A total of 16% of Romanian employers indicate intentions to increase their payroll in the first quarter of 2016, 15% anticipate a decrease, and 66% see no change, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

The seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook stands at +12% and is relatively stable when compared to the current quarter, and 2 percentage points stronger year-on-year.

“Employer optimism is not as buoyant as in the previous three months across all industry sectors, which is to be expected given global interdependencies, but the continuation in 2016 of the double-digit Net Employment Outlooks reported throughout 2015 gives us reason to hope that this is indeed the beginning of a trend toward sustainable job growth,” said Valentin Petrof, ManpowerGroup Romania’s Country Manager.

Nine out of ten industry sectors in Romania anticipate a growth in the staffing levels between January and March 2016.

The wholesale and retail trade sector reports the strongest hiring plans, as more than one in four employers intend to add to their payrolls in the first quarter of next year. The Net employment Outlook in this sector is at +23%, this being the strongest figure registered since the fourth quarter of 2012.

More than one is four employers in the manufacturing sector also indicate intentions to hire in the first three months of 2016, despite the outlook’s moderate decline in comparison to the previous quarter, according to Manpower.

However, forecasts weaken by varying degrees across eight of the 10 sectors surveyed, when compared to the last quarter of this year. The steepest declines are reported by employers in the construction and manufacturing sectors.

The electricity, gas and water supply sector continues to register a negative Outlook of -6%.

In regional terms, the employers in the Center and North-West regions remained the country’s most optimistic, for the second consecutive quarter. Their Net Employment Outlooks of +13% kept relatively stable compared to the previous quarter. The Outlook in the South-West region strengthened by 6 percentage points quarter-on-quarter to +9%, while the Outlook in the North-East region weakened by 9 percentage points to +4%.

Moreover, hiring plans are positive across organizations of all sizes, with large organizations reporting the most favorable hiring climate, with an Outlook of +16%. On the other hand, the employers in micro-organizations are the most cautious, with an Outlook of +2%.

The Q1/2016 edition of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey interviewed 625 employers across eight regions and 10 industry sectors between October 14 and October 27.

PwC: Companies in Romania hire more people, mostly to replace lost employees

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com