New Year Hiring Boom: U.S. Employers Report Optimistic Intentions For Q1 2022 Hiring

December 14, 2021 at 10:51 AM EST
- Employers in the U.S. report a Net Employment Outlook of 41% - the 8th strongest globally
- Most optimistic Q1 expectations since the survey began in 1962
- IT employers anticipate the most optimistic hiring pace, followed by Financial Services and Construction
- Outlooks look bright for jobseekers across all four U.S. regions, most notably in the West with an Outlook of 47%

MILWAUKEE, Dec. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. employers plan to continue to bring workers in at rapid pace for the new year finds the latest anniversary edition of the ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN) Employment Outlook Survey of more than 6,000 employers. Hiring intentions strengthen by 26 percentage points from Q1 2021 and remain higher than pre-pandemic for the second consecutive quarter.

KEY FINDINGS

  • Digital roles most in demand: IT, Technology, Telecoms, Communications & Media reported the strongest outlook (+60%), followed by Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate (+50%) and Construction (+41%). The weakest hiring intentions were found in Other Industry (+27%) and Not-for-profit (+29%).
  • Employers know flexibility is the key to attracting workers in a tight labor market: Organizations expect 44% (of finance, admin, and HR) and 43% (of IT) workforce to work a hybrid mix of onsite 2-3 days in the workplace and remote the remaining days. This is a substantial change since Q2 2021, when only 22% of organizations predicted a shift to a hybrid model.
  • Not all roles will be hybrid: The Manufacturing and Production industries are most likely to be in the workplace all of the time (46%) whereas roles in IT and Finance are more likely to be full-time remote (21%).

"This is the most optimistic Q1 report we have seen in since the survey began six decades ago as employers continue to bring workers back into the labor market and the reconciliation between what workers want and what employers need continues" said Becky Frankiewicz, President, ManpowerGroup North America. "We speak to employers across every industry and state and top of mind is how to be a destination for new talent and how to retain and retrain the workforce they already have. The gap between supply and demand narrowing - employers accept that good wages are now table stakes, and that employees are seeking more flexibility and more purpose in their lives. We have made great progress in moving closer to what workers want yet we still have some work to do to ensure these strong hiring plans translate to meaningful job opportunities for America's workers."

View the complete Q1 2022 U.S. survey results: manpowergroupusa.com/meos

Region

Q1 2022

Quarter-over-Quarter
Variation

Year-over-Year
Variation

Midwest

35%

41% (-6%)

17% (+18%)

Northeast

45%

50% (-5%)

14% (+31%)

South

37%

46% (-8%

16% (+21%)

West

47%

49% (-2%)

13% (+34%)

U.S. Hiring Plans by Industry Sectors and Regions

  • Employers in all 11 U.S. industry sectors expect to grow payrolls during the next three months: IT, Technology, Telecoms, Communications & Media (+60%); Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate (+50%); Construction (+41%); Other Services (+38%); Manufacturing (+37%); Restaurants & Hotels (+37%); Wholesale & Retail Trade (+37%); Education, Health, Social Work & Government (+35%); Primary Production (+30%); Not-for-Profit (+29%); Other Industry (+27%).
  • Strong hiring prospects continue across all four U.S. regions yet less optimistic when compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. Southern employers report a decrease of 8 percentage points, while Outlooks are 6, 5 and 2 percentage points weaker in the Midwest, Northeast and West, respectively. Regardless, employers report high hopes for hiring with Outlooks of 47% in West, 45% in the Northeast, 37% in the South and 35% in the Midwest.

To view complete results for the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, visit: manpowergroupusa.com/meos. The next survey will be released March 8, 2021, and will report hiring expectations for Q2 2022.

NOTES TO EDITORS:
The methodology used to collect the data for the Employment Outlook has been digitized in 40 markets for the Q1 2022 report. Respondents in prior quarters were contacted via telephone and data is now being collected online. Respondents are members of double opt-in online panels and are incentivized to complete the survey. In line with standard findings of online surveys, more people are now taking a position – selecting that their workforce will either increase or decrease vs. no change. Because the Net Employment Outlook is based only on the people saying increase or decrease, the result of this higher level of engagement means the methodology shift may contribute to a higher Outlook. With a sample of 1000 there is a margin of error of +/-3%. The question asked and the respondent profile remains unchanged. Size of organization and sector are standardized across all countries to allow international comparisons.

The survey data was collected in October 2021, before awareness of the Omicron variant.

ABOUT THE SURVEY
The Employment Outlook Survey is the most comprehensive, forward-looking employment survey of its kind, used globally as a key economic indicator. The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.

ABOUT MANPOWERGROUP 
ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for hundreds of thousands of organizations every year, providing them with skilled talent while finding meaningful, sustainable employment for millions of people across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands – Manpower, Experis and Talent Solutions – creates substantially more value for candidates and clients across more than 75 countries and territories and has done so for over 70 years. We are recognized consistently for our diversity - as a best place to work for Women, Inclusion, Equality and Disability and in 2021 ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the 12th year - all confirming our position as the brand of choice for in-demand talent.

 

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SOURCE ManpowerGroup

Emma Almond, +1 (414) 544-1489, emma.almond@manpowergroup.com