Manpower bullish on jobs

Manpower, one of Thailand's largest recruiting companies, maintains its positive view on the country's employment market, though it has reduced its revenue-growth forecast this year to 20 per cent.

Despite political instability and an economic slowdown, Manpower said the employment service industry is likely to show steady growth in the second half of the year.

There is demand for personnel in industries such as rubber- and plastic- product manufacturers, food and beverage, radio and television broadcasting-equipment makers and makers of chemical products. These sectors account for about 36.3 per cent  of the market. Demand from the transport and retail industries accounts for 25.5 per cent and real-estate and business services account for 11.9 per cent.

The labour market is likely to show a decrease in unemployment by about 30,000 jobs in the second half of the year compared with the same period last year, Manpower (Thailand) country manager Simon Matthews said.

"The labour market has experienced a 10-per-cent increase in job openings in the first half of the year," he said.

Matthews said Manpower achieved an 18-per-cent revenue growth in the first half of the year, which is consistent with the target set at the beginning of the year. It is confident that it can achieve revenue growth of 20 per cent by the end of the year.

The 20-per-cent target for this year is, however, lower than the expected 30- to 40-per-cent growth Matthews had forecast in March.

Matthews said the company's business strategy for the second half of the year would focus on holistic and integrated-employment solutions.

The company plans to increase the capabilities of corporate client services and simultaneously search for personnel for these services. This is a value-added strategy for corporate clients, providing them with integrated-employment solutions.

Manpower plans to increase its number of branches and continue its cross-border recruitment campaign. The campaign involves two functions - sending Thais to work abroad in markets such as the Middle East and inviting foreign labour in areas such as IT and engineering from Singapore and Taiwan to work in Thailand.

This will form a kind of human- resource exchange programme in response to market needs.