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Diverse outlooks per sector
Employers in different sectors expect varying growth figures for their workforce in the upcoming quarter. Here are the main conclusions:
- Hospitality: The hospitality sector leads the way, with 64 percent of employers expecting to expand their workforce. This is an increase of no less than 53 percentage points compared to the first quarter. No employer in the sector expects a contraction.
- Construction & real estate: The employment outlook is also high in the construction and real estate sector, with 59 percent of employers expecting an expansion. This is an increase of four percentage points compared to the previous quarter. More than half of the employers (56%) cite organizational growth as the main reason.
- Financial services & insurance: The sector is under pressure, with only 18 percent of employers expecting expansion. This is a significant decline of 18 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. The main cause: automation. 37 percent of employers cite this as a reason to hire fewer staff, leading to a decrease in demand for certain positions.
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AI widely embraced, obstacles not yet overcome
The decline in financial services illustrates how technology is reshaping the labor market. AI is being widely used: 61 percent of companies use it for recruitment, onboarding, and training. This does not come without challenges: as many as 93 percent of workers experience obstacles in using AI, with privacy and regulations cited as the biggest hurdles (19%). At the same time, employers are optimistic about what AI can mean: they expect it to enhance skills in the areas of ideas and creativity (70%), problem-solving ability (69%), and training (67%) in the coming twelve months.
Andre Secrest, General Director at ManpowerGroup Netherlands: 'The Netherlands proves to be a small economy with great resilience in the global labor market. This growth does not happen by itself. Companies actively invest in their people, and AI plays an increasingly larger role in that. What strikes me is that AI is expected to enhance human skills: creativity and ideas, problem-solving ability, and training. This is a turning point. It was long assumed that technology would mainly take over repetitive and administrative tasks. Now we see that AI is focusing on more complex tasks. And that is good news, as it means that employees are supported at a tactical level in what they do best. AI is the cape, the human remains the hero.'
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