which companies will take on more staff

Expectations of hiring companies in Argentina finally came out of the “red” for the first quarter of 2021.

This is evidenced by the latest Net Employment Outlook (NIE) report from ManpowerGroup Argentina, where the prospects for hiring staff were seven major points to those of previous quarter.

The value of the ENE is obtained by taking the percentage of employers who plan to increase their workforce and subtract the percentage of those who expect a decrease in the next quarter.

With the pandemic, companies have canceled their plans and investments. Their hiring plans for the second quarter of the year, when the country entered the growing phase of the epidemiological curve of COVID-19, they collapsed and entered negative ground.

Looking at the last three months of this year, hiring intentions had increased by five points, but it was not enough then to shift to the positive side of the employment curve, as can be seen in the next timeline.

But in the latest survey from this talent consulting firm, which is based on plans to add new staff to the first three months of 2021 out of more than 500 companies, there was a strong rebound in optimism.

The increase for this period was seven points compared to the previous quarter and five on an annual basis, leaving this indicator at 5%. And these intentions have a double value if we take into account the fact that the investigation was carried out between October 14 and 27, during the social, preventive and compulsory isolation by the new coronavirus, which could be the sign of even greater improvement after relaxation. restrictions.

“Argentinian employers give encouraging signs for those looking for work in the first quarter of 2021. 11% of employers anticipate an increase in their endowments, 5% anticipate a decrease and 76% indicate no change, resulting in a net expectation of employment of 6 % “According to the ManpowerGroup Argentina report, the seasonally adjusted ENE was 5%.

In other words, basically what has happened between one quarter and the next is that the proportion of companies that do not expect a change in their workforce for the start of 2021, but they were anticipating cuts of staff decreased by six points, while those awaiting constitution went from 8% to 11% in the last survey.

Luis Guastini, CEO of ManpowerGroup Argentina, who also explained: “The result is mainly due to the high expectations of the manufacturing, transportation and utilities and construction sectors. In turn, this positive expectation value occurs after two consecutive quarters with negative results. ”

“While this survey is predictive of what employers think will happen to their hiring intentions in the first quarter of 2021, it’s important to note that we have just come from quarters with steep declines, especially the third of 2020. As often happens. When these peaks are so low, the need to rearrange and adapt to the context we are going through and, consequently, to the “rebound effect”, added Guastini, when asked about the reduced number of companies which expect staff reductions.

“On the other hand, many industries have been back to activity Since social, preventive and compulsory isolation (ASPO) due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been made more flexible and many sectors have been allowed to return to work, which has surely had an influence on the expectations for the next quarter, ”he continued.

Another interesting fact is that in this latest report from ManpowerGroup Argentina, companies that demonstrate Highest JAN Those are the micro-enterprises, composed of less than 10 people.

“Micro-employers report the strongest hiring intentions with an ENE of 9%, while the ENE stands at 7% and 4% respectively for large and medium-sized enterprises. In contrast, small employers do state of 1% JAN uncertain, ”the report reads.

This is a fundamental rebound taking into account the fact that for the previous quarter, microenterprises presented an ENE of -20 points.

Asked about iProfesional In this regard, Guastini said that since the previous survey, “several industries have been able to gradually resume their activity, which may have affected their hiring expectations for the first months of next year”.

“It should also be noted that micro-employers have been strongly affected by the situation. To cope with this situation, many they had to reinvent themselves, to move from the management of a micro-enterprise to the creation of a company according to the needs of current consumption to continue to generate income. In turn, many industries have been able to fit online model and the pandemic has encouraged them to launch digital solutions, even to open a virtual store in some cases, which has a positive impact on the bottom line, ”said the leader of ManpowerGroup Argentina.

Employment by region

The region with the highest hiring intentions in the country is Pampeana, with an ENE of 8%. It was followed by the metropolitan area of ​​Buenos Aires (AMBA), with 7%.

Finally, the Patagonia report the lower expectations, with an ENE of -7%, while Cuyo’s showed a -1 percent.

Compared to the period studied previously, intentions are strengthened in five of the six regions studied. This trend is led by the Pampeana region and the NOA, both of which registered an increase of 8 percentage points.

AMBA and Cuyo continue this trend, both reporting a 7 point improvement. In contrast, the Patagonia region shows a decrease of 2 percentage points.

Most active sectors

Manufacturing and transportation and utilities sectors reveal higher expectations of the sample, both with an ENE of 11%.

“In these cases, we have started to receive inquiries and staff requests not only because of the reactivation of the activities for which these areas work, but also because of the accumulation of stocks by companies and because that some projects had been interrupted due to the pandemic, ”Guastini said.

They were followed by construction, with an ENE of 10%, and agriculture and fishing (6%).

Paradoxically, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate and Public Administration & Education report the lowest intentions, both with an ENE of -2%.

Compared to the previous quarter, mining had a 27 point increase in its hiring intentions, and thus becomes the engine of this strong general increase for the first months of 2021.

Transportation and utilities also recorded a sequential increase of 23 points from the previous quarter, and manufacturing by 14 points.

Future employment

This time, ManpowerGroup has investigated a bit more in depth the changes in business that are occurring in the wake of the pandemic.

the 35% of those who responded to the survey expect their business to return to pre-pandemic hiring levels in the next 12 months. They are 4% less than those who had this estimate in the previous report.

On the other hand, 32% of those questioned believe that it will take them more than 12 months to regain their hiring level. This is the segment of employers that has grown the most since the survey conducted in mid-year, since 26% indicated these delays.

Finally, the seven% believes that recruitment levels will never revert to previous values pandemic, whereas in the previous survey, only 2% had stated this intention.

ManpowerGroup Argentina considers this data as a sign that “the optimism weakens“and that employers” accept that the economic effects of the pandemic will be lasting“.

However, if you look at the timeline of the same report, it’s clear that 2019 hiring levels aren’t too far off from what companies are forecasting today for the first months of 2021.