American Chamber of Commerce in Romania

Slow-paced growth in total employment is forecast by Romanian employers

Romanian Net Employment Outlook returns to positive after five consecutive quarters of negative hiring intentions. Third-quarter Outlook stands at a cautious +2%.

Bucharest, Romania, 8 June 2010 – After reporting negative hiring intentions for five consecutive quarters, Romanian employers may feeling more confident about adding to their payrolls in the next three months. The Romanian Net Employment Outlook* is a cautious +2% and an indication of moderate hiring activity in the quarter ahead. The data shows 21 percent of employers expect to add employees, while 19 percent plan to reduce workforces. Almost 60 percent plan to keep their workforces intact. Manpower Romania’s survey findings are the result of interviews with 751 Human Resource Managers from all over the country. Overall, this quarter’s Outlook represents considerable improvements of 9 percentage points both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year.
*The Net employment Outlook (the figure derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting to see a decrease).

Camelia Stanculescu, General Manager of Manpower Romania, says: “After more than one year the results of the survey for the third quarter, have a positive Net Employment Outlook, this leads us to believe that the labor market begins to recover slightly. Manpower survey provides some clarity to the situation, revealing the highs and lows of the labor market landscape in what will likely be another new challenging year for employers and job seekers alike.
It will be some time before the labor market returns to a situation comparable with pre-recession conditions But employers must continue to support and attract valuable employees and employees must develop their key skills position it occupies to meet needs that companies have and to take advantage of opportunities that will occur when the economy recover.
Finding balance in 2010 will be influenced on one hand, positively, tempered but steady growth of employment outlooks, and on the other hand, negatively, further increasing the unemployment rate.”

At the regional level, employers in five of the eight regions anticipate headcount growth during Quarter 3 2010. The most active labor market is forecast by employers in the Center, who report a Net Employment Outlook of +22%. South-East employers are cautiously optimistic, reporting an Outlook of +8%. However, employers in three regions (North-East, South-West and Bucharest & Ilfov) forecast negative headcount growth, with particularly gloomy hiring prospects reported in the South-West, where the Outlook stands at -15%. Employers in the North-East also anticipate a sluggish hiring pace, with an Outlook of -7%.

In the industry sector comparison, employers in four of the 10 industry sectors anticipate headcount growth during Quarter 3 2010. The most optimistic forecast is reported by employers in the Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry & Fishing sector, with a healthy Net Employment Outlook of +21%. Manufacturing sector employers report a cautiously optimistic Outlook of +9% and moderate headcount gains are anticipated in the Mining & Quarrying sector, where the Outlook is +6%. Meanwhile, employers in four sectors anticipate negative headcount growth, most notably in the Electricity, Gas & Water Supply sector, where the Outlook is a pessimistic -10%.

From the international comparison
Over 61,000 employers across 36 countries and territories have been interviewed to measure anticipated employment trends* between July and September 2010.
Employers in 31 of the 36 countries and territories Manpower surveys expect to add to their workforces in Quarter 3 2010. In quarter-over-quarter comparisons, Outlooks improve in 23 of 36 countries and territories. Where year-over-year comparisons can be made, hiring expectations are stronger in 30 of the 34 countries and territories. Across the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) region hiring expectations are mixed: employers in 13 of 18 countries forecast positive Outlooks in the quarter ahead, comparing favorably to Quarter 3 2009 when employers from only five of 18 EMEA countries reported positive Outlooks. Meanwhile, forecasts throughout the Asia Pacific and Americas regions are positive for all countries analysed.
Forecasts are strongest in India, Brazil, Taiwan, China, Peru and Australia. However, hiring intentions are weakest in Italy, Ireland, Spain and Greece, where employers report the only negative hiring intentions among the countries and territories surveyed.

“Across the world, there is improved optimism towards hiring, which is typical for this phase of the recovery,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman and CEO of Manpower Inc. “The majority of countries are emerging from the downturn, but still have a way to go as companies are feeling demand for their products and services, but it has not accelerated enough to excite hiring prospects.”
“Europe, despite all the recent bad news, is showing some improved demand for product, as evidenced by employers’ increased appetite to hire in the Manufacturing sector, with 16 of 18 countries showing more optimism in their hiring plans,” explained Joerres.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on September 7th 2010 to report hiring expectations for the fourth quarter of 2010. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is available free of charge to the public through their local Manpower representative in participating countries. For Romania you can find the brochure and the press release both in Romanian and English at www.manpower.ro in the Pressroom. To receive e-mail notification when the survey is available each quarter, interested individuals are invited to complete an online subscription form at: http://investor.manpower.com/investors/alerts.cfm.






Note to Editors
Commentary is based on seasonally adjusted data where available. Full survey results for each of the 36 countries and territories included in this quarter’s survey, plus regional and global comparisons, can be found in the Manpower Press Room at www.manpower.com/meos. In addition, all tables and graphs from the full report are available to be downloaded for use in publication or broadcast from the Manpower Web site at http://www.manpower.com/library.

About the Survey

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the most extensive forward-looking survey of its kind, unparalleled in its size, scope, longevity and area of focus. The Survey has been running for more than 47 years and is one of the most trusted surveys of employment activity in the world. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is based on interviews with over 61,000 public and private employers worldwide and is considered a highly respected economic indicator.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is currently available for 36 countries and territories: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The program began in the United States and Canada in 1962, and the United Kingdom was added in 1966. Mexico and Ireland launched the survey in 2002, and 13 additional countries were added to the program in 2003. New Zealand joined the program in 2004, China, India, Switzerland and Taiwan were added in 2005, and Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica and South Africa joined in 2006. Colombia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Guatemala, Poland and Romania joined in 2008 and Hungary and Brazil were added in 2009. In 2010 Manpower’s Panama operation launches the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, expanding the program total to 36 countries and territories worldwide. For more information, visit the Manpower Inc. Web site at www.manpower.com and enter the Research Center, or contact Bruce Bock, Global Thought Leadership at bruce.bock@manpower.com

About Manpower Romania
Manpower Romania has operated since April 2003. Currently, there are 10 branches in the most 7 important cities. The company’s portfolio covers temporary employment, permanent and contract recruitment, outsourcing and consulting. More information on Manpower Romania is available at www.manpower.ro .

About Manpower Inc.
Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) is a world leader in innovative workforce solutions; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. With over 60 years’ experience, Manpower offers employers a range of services and solutions for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting. Manpower's worldwide network of nearly 4,000 offices in 82 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of 400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world's largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower’s work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management. More information about Manpower Inc. is available at www.manpower.com.

If you need more information, graphs and data, please contact:
Manpower Romania
Marketing & Communication Department
Eliza Nechifor
Tel. + 40 21 312 1898
eliza.nechifor@manpower.ro