One in ten Slovak employers are thinking about hiring some new employees during the first quarter of 2012, while 9 percent of companies expect a reduction in their labour force, according to the Manpower Index published by the recruitment firm of the same name on Monday, December 12.
The number of employers planning to provide jobs to new people in the first three months of 2012 is 1 percentage point higher than the number of those who are planning to lay someone off. "The net labour market index stands at +1 percent," said Jaroslava Rezlerová, general director of Manpower in the Czech and Slovak Republics, as quoted by the TASR newswire. He added that the index stood at +2 percent three months ago. This means employers are expecting a relatively stable recruitment environment. Around 70 percent of the 750 companies approached by Manpower said they did not expect any changes in their employment levels in the given period. In terms of individual regions, the best results were reported in Bratislava Region, with the index at +6 percent. Companies in central Slovakia recorded +2 percent. Conversely, a negative trend is expected in the east of Slovakia, where the index dropped to -6 percent.
The results surprised Robert Kičina, the executive director of the Slovak Business Alliance, a lobbying group, who said he had expected the number of jobs to fall.
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
