Region still optimistic despite euro turmoil

YORKSHIRE employers remain cautiously optimistic, despite the uncertainty caused by turmoil in the eurozone, according to a new survey.

The study by recruitment firm Manpower suggests that Yorkshire’s business leaders are more cheerful than their counterparts in the North-West.

The Manpower survey calculates a “net employment outlook” by subtracting those employers who plan to cut staffing levels from those who plan to hire more workers.

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A positive result indicates that more employers plan to increase rather than decrease staffing levels.

Manpower’s outlook survey for the first quarter of 2012 in Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire produced a result of + 4 per cent. The North West’s result, by contrast, was - 5 per cent.

The employer sentiment survey in Yorkshire, although not as positive as before the recession, has not recorded a negative figure for two years. Nationally, the figures suggest that the jobs market is flat-lining, according to Manpower.

Amanda White, the Manpower operations manager for Yorkshire, said: “There are encouraging signs that the region is withstanding some of the national pain that is being felt by employers.”

Nationally, companies in the utilities sector are most positive about prospects in 2012. Manpower has recorded a rise in the number of vacancies available in the gas and water sectors in Yorkshire.