EMPLOYERS HERE have the most pessimistic hiring outlook in Europe, a new survey has found.

According to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook survey, about 20 per cent of Irish employers plan to reduce staff numbers in the second quarter of the year.

The survey, which monitors the hiring plans of more than 600 employers in Ireland, found the outlook is particularly grim in Ulster. The net employment outlook there has plummeted to minus 21 per cent. Although hiring forecasts are most positive in the Dublin region, the net employment outlook stands at a very weak minus 10 per cent.

“Employer hiring confidence continues to dramatically weaken,” commented Krissie Davies, managing director of Manpower Ireland.

Concerns about the economy, coupled with falling consumer confidence, were having a big impact on job prospects in all industry sectors, she added.

Sectors such as construction and mining had been suffering for the last two years, but job cuts were now occurring across the board. “We have been witnessing a shedding of jobs across nearly all industry sectors for the past six months,” Ms Davies said. “This trend has further heightened this quarter.”

Even the pharmaceutical industry, which remained buoyant during 2007 and the first half of 2008, was being affected, with employers becoming more conservative about hiring, she added.

Polish employers were found to have the most optimistic recruitment plans in Europe, with a net employment outlook of 6 per cent.

The survey is conducted quarterly and covers 33 countries and over 72,000 employers globally.