The hiring climate expected in Greece in the period from June to September 2024, with a total employment outlook of 10 percentage points, records the group’s latest hiring outlook survey ManpowerGroup.

According to the research, the Greek organizations they expect the employment outlook to have strengthened by 3 points compared to Q2 2024, but weakened by 6 points from Q3 2023.

37% of the 525 Greek employers who participated in the survey expect an increase in staff, 23% expect a decrease, while 37% expect no change. However, the percentage of employers who report difficulty finding the talent they need remains extremely high (82%).

IT is the most competitive industry in Greece

Based on the survey findings, the most competitive industry in Greece is Information Technology (38%), although intentions in the industry decreased by 5 points from the previous quarter and by 1 point from last year. The majority (74%) of IT employers report difficulty in finding the skilled candidates they need.

The industry with the largest increase from the previous quarter is Transportation, & Supply Chain, up 14%, recording the highest NEO index (35%) in that industry since tracking began in Q2 2008.

Employment prospects in the Industry and Construction sector in Greece are set at 15%, up 9% from the previous quarter and up 15% compared to the same period last year.

In the Finance and Real Estate sector, Greek employers report positive hiring intentions (15%), down -2% from the previous quarter.

The Health and Life Sciences sector reaches 10% (-7% from the previous quarter) and the Consumer Goods and Services sector stands at 8% (+8% from the previous quarter).

Weaker hiring intentions are recorded by Energy and Utilities, where the index stands at -6% (-6% from the previous quarter) and the Communication Services sector, with employment prospects of -13% (-38% from the previous quarter and -58% compared to the same period last year).

Mr. Charalambos Kazantzidis, CEO of ManpowerGroup Greece, said: “Despite the challenges in the labor market and the modest situation of the hiring outlook in the country, it is encouraging that there are signs of recovery and optimism in some sectors. It continues to be of interest that the IT industry has the highest staffing demand index (38%), while the Transportation and Supply Chain industry has a high NEO index (35%). ManpowerGroup Greece supports the IT industry with Tech Academies, offering training in the programming language SAP ABAP and SAP FINANCE, helping candidates to obtain SAP Certified Associate – Back-End Developer – ABAP Cloud & SAP FI Consultant certification, respectively. At the same time, for the Transport and Supply Chain sector, the company has a specialized department, providing integrated solutions for permanent and temporary employment, enhancing the development and well-being of organizations and employees”.

The most competitive Region is the wider Region of Attica (16%), marking an increase of 2 points from the previous quarter and a drop of 4 points from the 3rd quarter of 2023.

Stronger employment prospects in very large companies

Greek employers in large companies, with 5,000+ employees, are the most optimistic (29%), showing an increase of 7 points from the previous quarter and 12 points from last year.

This quarter marks the lowest intentions recorded at large firms with 250-999 employees for over two years, compared to Q2 2022, when it was -1%.

The job prospects in the world

Globally, the Total Employment Outlook is unchanged from the previous quarter at 22 points.

42% of employers expect an increase in hiring, 20% predict a decrease, while 35% expect no change.

Higher hiring intentions are found in Costa Rica (35%) and weaker in Romania and Argentina (3%).

In the US (30%), employment expectations fell 4 points from the previous quarter, showing a decline for the fourth consecutive quarter.

Likewise, China’s hiring pace (28%) slows for another quarter (-4), while India (30%) sees its first significant decline (-6) since last year.

In comparison, the Europe, Middle East and Africa region (18%) and South and Central America (22%) report improved employment expectations from the previous quarter.

As pointed out in a related announcement, 40,374 employers in 42 countries and territories participated in the ManpowerGroup employment outlook survey for the 3rd quarter of 2024.

Respondents were asked one question: “How do you expect the total number of people employed in your area of ​​responsibility to change in the quarter to the end of June 2024 compared to the current quarter?”.

The term Net Employment Outlook, used in this survey, is the result of subtracting the percentage of employers who expect an increase in their workforce from the percentage of employers who expect a decrease. This results in the net balance (either positive or negative) of employment prospects. The data has been seasonally adjusted to better reflect the reality of projected hiring. These adjustments smooth out the impact of seasonal variations, which occur at the same times each year.