A survey by the ManpowerGroup Slovakia reveals that employers in the Bratislava region have ambitious plans to increase their workforce in the first quarter of next year. As many as 13 percent of them are reported ready to hire workers. At the other end of the scale, 6 percent report plans to cut back on staff, and 77 percent say they foresee no changes. The results put the net labour market index at plus 7 percent. "The final and first quarters of the year are usually the worst period on the labour market, as it usually sees a definite unemployment spike. Up to 15,000 people can lose jobs due to the fact that seasonal work in construction and agriculture is coming to an end," ManpowerGroup Slovakia marketing manager Jiří Halbrštát told a press conference in Bratislava. "Such a positive number is thus very good."
The most extensive plans to hire workers, up 15 percent in the January to March 2017 period, were reported by firms involved in finance, insurance, real estate, transport, storage and logistics, retail and wholesale. The index in the processing industry is up 14 percent.
However, a more pessimistic outlook prevails among firms operating in mining minerals. They have indicated a foreseen 4 percent drop, while a similar trend is recorded in state administration, health care, education, culture, agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, all with an index of -1 percent.
The biggest hiring processes are expected to be carried out by large employers in the Bratislava region (28 percent of firms with 250 and more employees).
