Some 33.8% of Belgian small and medium-sized (SME) companies plan to hire new staff in the next three months, according to an employment survey published on Monday by the human resources service provider SD Worx. In Flanders and Brussels, 35.2% and 37.4% of SMEs respectively aim to take on new employees in the second quarter of 2018, while the percentage in Wallonia is 29.3. Almost four out of 10 SMEs (37.7%) also expect an increased volume of work this quarter.
According to SD Worx, the SME employment outlook was almost the same a year ago, when 39.9% of SMEs planned to take on workers in the second quarter of 2017.
“Our SMEs continue to send positive signals on jobs,” Vassilios Skarlidis, regional director for SMEs at SD Worx, was quoted as saying in a press release. “For the second quarter of 2018, their outlook on the economy and employment is also positive. The fact that the SMEs expect a high volume of work is more than encouraging. After all, that’s the main reason for taking on more staff.”
About 73% of the SMEs aiming to take on new staff intend to increase their workforce, according to the survey. Only about 10.4% of survey respondents plan to lay off staff in the second quarter,
The survey covers 781 companies with one to 99 employees. Its margin of error is 3.5%.
The Brussels Times
