Global employment survey shows levelling out in market for professionals and managers. A regular international survey of over 20,000 organisations in 50 countries has found that job markets for professionals and managers around the world appear to be relatively stable. The “Global Snapshot” project from the multi-national recruitment firm, Antal International, asked 20,546 companies in major markets such as western and eastern Europe, Africa, India, China and the USA whether they were currently hiring at professional and managerial level.

It then asked whether they planned to do so in the coming quarter and whether they were currently letting staff go or were planning to do so in the next three months. Current hiring levels across the globe were down slightly with 51 percent of respondents recruiting at professional and managerial level in comparison to 55 percent in the last survey in April. 49 percent of organisations questioned intended to hire in the coming quarter. However, the overall rate of attrition has dropped from 20 percent in April to 18 percent now and this is expected to fall again to just 16 percent over the next three months.

Western Europe
The highest levels of hiring were found in Iceland (94 percent), Denmark (75 percent) and Ireland (63 percent), while the lowest were recorded in Germany where only 27 percent of companies questioned were in the process of recruiting at professional or managerial level. In the UK the percentage of businesses recruiting was up from 45 percent in April to 49 percent now and is expected to drop by just 1 percent over the coming quarter. Despite that fact that Western Europe has been a long-term casualty of the financial meltdown of 2008, almost all of the countries surveyed in the region indicated at least some rise in hiring activity at professional and managerial level, even the Eurozone”s most high profile victims of the downturn, Spain and Greece.

Eastern Europe and Eurasia
The highest levels of recruitment in this region were found in Israel (80 percent), Russia (68 percent) and Bulgaria (63 percent). The lowest was recorded in Hungary (24 percent).

Middle East
Employment markets were relatively strong across the region, the weakest, in UAE, registering a respectable 54 percent hiring rate, up from 49 percent in April. The highest levels of recruitment were found in Qatar (76 percent) and Saudi Arabia (73 percent).

Africa
In the continent”s most high profile economy, South Africa, hiring levels were down from 53 percent in December to 50 percent now, but this figure is expected to rise to 57 percent over the next three months.

Asia Pacific
Pakistan recorded the highest level of recruitment activity in the region with 75 percent of organisations currently hiring, followed by Taiwan with 70 percent. Activity in China had remained constant since the last survey in April at 72 percent and this was expected to continue into the coming quarter. In India the percentage of organisations increasing headcount had also remained constant at 55 percent, but this was due to a rise marginally to 56 percent in the next three months.

The Americas
Canada registered the strongest performance in North America with 73 percent of businesses currently seeking staff, while the figure for US employers was 66 percent, up from 48 percent in April. In Latin America the most buoyant hiring market was in Mexico where 74 percent of businesses were hiring at professional and managerial level.

“In our view the results of the latest Snapshot research does not suggest either any significant improvement or worsening of the global economic picture,” says Antal”s CEO, Tony Goodwin. “Instead, we would suggest this indicates that many organisations have now come to accept uncertainty as an unwelcome, but inherent part of business life and are consequently pushing ahead with investment and development in this “new normal”. As a consequence, while McKinsey & Co”s notorious “war for talent” may be on indefinite hold in many sectors and disciplines, there is no doubt that it, is most definitely raging again over those individuals whose specialist, technical skills and entrepreneurial application are key to driving businesses forward.”