The prolongation of the war in Ukraine, inflation, which although it slowed down in August, remains high, and fears of a downturn in the economy make businessmen fear for the coming months. This fear is already being reflected in hiring prospects, which are cooling. And in layoffs, which are increasing, albeit slightly.
They are already signs of hesitation and apprehension. A ManpowerGroup study of 510 Portuguese companies on hiring and firing forecasts for the last three months of the year, seen by the Observer, reveals that the percentage of employers convinced that they will be able to maintain the number of workers they currently have: since 46% in the third quarter for 42% at the end of the year. Those 4 percentage points seem to have gone to the group of employers who plan to lay off in the coming months, a proportion that has gone from 10% to 14%. At the same time, the proportion of workers who expect to increase their teams remains unchanged: 41%.
In the Manpower Group accounts, these estimates translate to net job creation (the difference between the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in their workforce and the percentage of employers anticipating a decrease, but seasonally adjusted) of 31%, one percentage point lower than the previous quarter’s outlook, but four above the second quarter of the year, in the first months of the war in Ukraine. In other words, a slowdown is estimated in the final stretch of the year.
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Source: Observadora
