The majority of businesses believe that they will either maintain or increase staffing levels between now and the end of March 2002, according to a new survey released today.
The QSEP (Quarterly Survey of Employment Prospects) from Manpower Ireland is conducted from a sample of over 500 Irish companies across a range of industry sectors.
The survey found that 69 per cent of companies in the Republic anticipate that they will maintain current staffing levels while 24 per cent expect an increase and only 6 per cent plan to reduce staffing levels.
Of the companies surveyed in Northern Ireland, 79 per cent predict no change in their staffing levels while 16 per cent expect to recruit additional employees in the next quarter. Only 5 per cent of companies in Northern Ireland expect to reduce their staffing levels.
Comparing results across the range of industry sectors, the most bullish is the financial sector with 44 per cent of companies predicting an increase in staffing levels and none predicting any reduction.
The construction, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors are also displaying significant optimism.
The Manpower QSEP would also seem to reinforce recent optimism about a recovery in the IT sector. Approximately 22 per cent of IT companies are predicting an increase in staff while 64 per cent are predicting that they will maintain numbers at the same level.