Romanian employers say they will continue hiring in the first quarter of 2015, but the growth will be a modest one, according to a Manpower study on Employment Outlook.

The seasonally adjusted net employment outlook is of plus 9% for the fourth consecutive quarter, given that 13% of employers predict increases in the number of employees, 12% anticipate reductions and 73% don’t intend to make any workforce changes in the following three months.

The forecast for the first quarter of 2015 is 3 percentage points stronger than the one expressed in the same period in 2014, according to the study.

“Every quarter for more than four years, employers have reported consistently positive intentions of adding to their payrolls, with respect to the previous quarter. The positive connotation is that the overall number of job openings has grown somewhat, although the growth margins have been and continue to be modest. Job seekers can therefore expect employment opportunities through at least the first three months of 2015,” said Valentin Petrof, general manager of ManpowerGroup Romania.

“Employer confidence and the pace of hiring appear to have stabilized at a cautiously optimistic level, with many employers choosing to pursue a continued wait-and-see stance, until they receive clearer indications of how policy changes may impact business,” he added.

The most optimistic hiring plans come from employers active in the manufacturing industry, with the net employment outlook of this sector being of plus 17%, unchanged compared to both the previous quarter and the first three months of 2014.

The less optimistic employers are those active in agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing, as well as those in the construction sector, which report estimates of minus 3%.

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