Medellin Companies Plan to Boost Hiring by 14% in 3Q 2016: Manpower

The latest Manpower survey of employers in Colombia shows that Medellin companies plan to boost hiring by 14% during third quarter (3Q) 2016, second only to Bucaramanga (up 24%) for all of Colombia.

In an June 17 interview with Medellin Herald at the World Economic Forum conference, Manpower Latin America president Monica Flores explained that despite relative softness in the Colombia economy in recent months (compared to past years), the national hiring outlook remains relatively robust, up a net 11% (see chart).

In total, 75% of the 750 Colombian employers surveyed said they expected to maintain their labor force at current levels, while 6% planned layoffs and 17% planned to boost employment.

Once accounting for seasonal hiring factors (except for mining and construction sectors), the net increase foreseen in Colombian hiring for 3Q 2016 is actually 12% rather than 11%, she explained.

While the over-all hiring outlook seems relatively bright, it’s down from the 18% boost seen in second quarter (2Q) 2016 and down from a 14% boost seen in 3Q 2015, she said.

The largest enterprises (with at least 250 employees) predict that they’ll expand hiring by 20% during 3Q 2016, while “small” enterprises (10 to 49 employees) foresee a 15% hike. “Micro” enterprises (less than 10 employees) foresee a 7% rise, while “medium” enterprises (50 to 249 employees) forecast a 6% rise in hiring, the survey found.

On a nationwide basis, the services sector would have a 13% hike, while manufacturing foresees 10%. Finance, insurance and real estate sectors foresee 9% increases.

The construction sector predicts an 8% hike in hiring in 3Q 2016 – the lowest increase since first-quarter 2013, when Manpower first began measuring this Colombian sector. Comparing 3Q 2016 to 2Q 2016, the Colombian construction hiring outlook dropped 27%, and fell 12% compared to 3Q 2015, she said.

While the petroleum sector has seen steep layoffs world-wide (including Colombia) over the past 18 months thanks to the crash in oil prices, current hiring outlooks in Colombia generally look positive, Flores told us. Massive layoffs in the petroleum sector are today mainly in the rear-view mirror, she added.

The 12% rise in hiring expectations for 3Q 2016 puts Colombia in eighth place globally, behind world-leading India (up 36%), Japan (up 22%), Taiwan (up 17%), Guatemala (up 16%), Romania (up 16%), the United States (up 15%) and Hungary (up 13%), the Manpower survey shows.

In Latin America, Costa Rica and Mexican employers almost tied Colombian employers with nearly a 12% hike in hiring foreseen in 3Q 2016. But Brazilian employers foresee a 15% reduction in hiring in 3Q 2016, the survey found.

The 15% rise in hiring in the U.S. foreseen in 3Q 2016 is “very positive” for Colombia and Latin America, because a relatively robust U.S. economy simultaneously tends to favor economic growth in Latin America, she added.