Entrepreneurs see a very slight improvement in employment prospects for the second quarter

After several fall quarters, local entrepreneurs showed a slight improvement in their expectations for hiring new employees. However, the indicator remains below the levels of last year, according to a private study conducted by consulting firm Manpower; and for employers, the job market will continue to be "threatened".

Net Employment Expectancy (NES) for the second quarter of 2019 is 0%, which represents a 4 percentage point improvement compared to the previous quarter and a drop of 6 points compared to the same period last year.

The survey was conducted between 800 Argentine employers during the last half of January. The ENE is the result of subtracting the percentage that expects an increase in the number of employees and the percentage that is expected to decrease over the next quarter.

"While net job prospects reflect 0% of hiring prospects, we are beginning to see a slight improvement over previous quarter result", explained Fernando Podestá, vice president, commercial and operations director of ManpowerGroup Argentina.

"The 4 points of improvement compared to the previous quarter are drawn by the sectors of agriculture and fisheries, public administration and education, transport and public services"he added.

The strongest hiring intentions are recorded in the region of Cuyo with 14 points, followed by Patagonia with 7. While employers report the lowest expectations in the NDA region, with a decline of 8%.

"Four quarters ago, we had an ENE below 5%, for the second quarter it gave us 0, which is better than the previous quarter, and the trend was down sharply to 4%. Between 2007 and 2008, we were above 25 points and went to negative values ​​in 2009. After 2010 to 2014, they were above 10 and from 2014, we are between 10 and 5 ", declared the executive.

With regard to industrial activities, the agriculture and fishing sector leads the way with a forecast of 7%followed by public administration, education, transport and public services, both with a 4% outlook.

For the second quarter of 2019, four of the nine industrial sectors badyzed by the study presented positive expectations. Agriculture and fishing are the activities that lead the investigation. On the other hand, the sector of the wholesale and retail trade is the one that informs the weakest intentions, with an ENE of -5%, followed by the manufacturing and services sectors, with -1%. Finally, the extractive industries, as well as finance, insurance and real estate, have zero expectations (0%).

"Construction has improved 11 points over the previous year, with manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade and the service sector still negative.The survey on expectations is predictive, anticipates and confirms what is happening, positive expectations have been expressed recently, mainly for construction-related reasons, whether public works or buildings, in which the real estate market When it starts to show signs of improvement, it can make us think that this can pull other sectors, "said Podestá.

Compared to the previous period, hiring plans are being strengthened in seven of the nine industry sectors. "If we look at the contrast from one year to the next, the outlook weakens in eight of the nine sectors studied, and employers in the agriculture and fishing sector are only to report an improvement of one point compared to the same period of the previous year, "says the report.

On the other hand, those of the wholesale and retail trade registered a decrease of 10 points. The finance, insurance and real estate (-9%), manufacturing and construction (-8%) and mining (-7%) sectors also weakened. For its part, public administration and education reflect a 4-digit decline and 2-digit services, as well as transportation and utilities.