Outlook bright for job market

Most companies that had initiated a hiring freeze in November and December last year are signing up new employees again, Simon Matthews, manager of Manpower, Thailand's largest recruitment company, said.

The number of job placement orders that the firm received has gone up by 30 per cent to 40 per cent year on year during the first two months of 2008, he said.

Gregory Poupon, Manpower's permanent business director, said the number of new businesses registered with the Commerce Ministry has increased 13 per cent for January and February this year.

Manpower expects its revenues to grow by 30 per cent to 40 per cent this year. In 2007, the company placed 8,000 people, of which about 7,400 were contract workers.

Matthews said Manpower's 2008 growth would come from three

areas: first, from existing branches; second, from its expansion into new locations; and third, from stretching into new territories such as the hospitality industry and cross-border services.

Manpower, which currently has offices in Bangkok and the nearby provinces of Chonburi and Ayutthaya, is looking to open 36 more upcountry branches this year, including at the Lampoon Industrial Estate near Chiang Mai in May. Other likely choices include Phuket, Korat, Songkhla and Udon Thani and Khon Kaen, Matthews said. The expansion would help Manpower build a network to better serve clients.

Manpower is also looking to "export Thai nationals", Matthews said.

"We just opened a company in Dubai which is the largest recruitment firm in the Middle East. We see the opportunity to export Thai nationals. They have orders for more than 10,000 jobs now." 

Matthews said those jobs are for construction workers, factory operators and skilled workers.

There will also be demand for Thai workers in the hospitality industry to staff the new integrated entertainment complex and casino under construction in Singapore, Matthews said. Globally, Manpower has seen the "changing world of work" and is looking for more cross-border recruitment deals, he said.

Matthews said Thailand's recruitment market is far from mature yet.

 "Even if the global economy suffers, we recruiters are not limited to a particular sector," he said. "Also, I think if the economy doesn't grow, we can gain market share and also educate the market [to increase the penetration rate]."

"We look at the whole cycle - recruitment, training, career development and out-placement, which is to find jobs for people who have been laid off," Matthews said.

According to Matthews, Manpower overtook Adecco as the top recruitment firm in Thailand

last year when its revenue reached Bt1.7 billion, up 30 per cent from 2007.

"Adecco was not quite

aggressive last year," he said.

Manpower expects the new labour protection law, which will take effect in three months, to have little impact on the company's business, he said.

Thanadit Raktabutr, general manager of Staffers Recruitment Consultants, said hiring, which was grinding to a halt last year, has recovered in some sectors.

"The consumer products market has slowed down remarkably. The slowdown in the alcoholic beverage industry looks like a permanent trend.

"The service industry is expanding, which benefits a wide range of workers. Employment in real estate is also growing because projects started two years ago are just finishing," he said.

Staffers' orders increased between 15 per cent and 20 per cent year on year in 2008, Thanadit said.

Pichaya Changsorn

The Nation