Manpower predicts job losses in 2002Chris DruceA new survey by recruiting agency Manpower has predicted there will be further job losses throughout the electronics industry during the first quarter of 2002.
Overall, UK employers’ predictions for the period January to March, 2002 indicate the steepest quarter-on-quarter drop in the 33-year history of the survey.
Across the electronics sector, more companies expect to lose jobs than expect to gain staff, Manpower said.
A “net job gains” metric is calculated by subtracting the percentage of companies expecting to reduce staff numbers from the percentage expecting to take on staff. Net job gains in electronics is expected to be –6 points, down from +12 a year-ago.
Iain Herbertson, managing director of Manpower, commented: “That said, the first quarter of the year is always the slowest for employment prospects, fuelled by the traditional slow-down in consumer spending, and not all types of work are in decline. Indeed, in a period of economic uncertainty we are seeing greater use of flexible workforces.”
Regionally the South is proving most resilient overall. However, the Northern regions are expecting a fall in employment equalling –7, while Scotland, following a year of redundancies in its electronics sector, predicts the workforce will contract by –5 points.
Manpower’s quarterly report takes in 2,000 companies, spanning 12 regions and 19 industries.