According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey results released today, hiring expectations in emerging markets – China, Taiwan, India, and Brazil – continue to outpace the rest of the world. Meanwhile, employer hiring confidence in European countries is mixed with positive job prospects reported in Germany for the quarter ahead. And although hiring plans in the U.S. are stronger compared to one year ago, the cautiously optimistic hiring pace reported for the next three months indicates economic concerns continue to weigh on the minds of American employers.

The Manpower data shows employers in 28 of 36 countries and territories expect positive hiring activity in the fourth quarter, with those in five reporting negative hiring expectations — an improvement in comparison to the 12 countries reporting negative outlooks 12 months ago. Globally, employers in 32 countries and territories are reporting stronger year-over-year outlooks, with those in China, Taiwan, India, and Brazil indicating the strongest fourth-quarter job prospects. Notably, forecasts from Chinese, Swiss, and Taiwanese employers are the most optimistic since Manpower began polling there. The weakest hiring plans for the upcoming quarter are reported in Greece, Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, and Ireland.

“We’re seeing a multi-speed recovery in the global labor market with talent demand in high gear in many of the emerging markets we survey. Other markets, such as the U.S. and Japan, are still moving forward but can’t seem to get out of first gear,” said Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman and CEO of Manpower Inc. “Employers in many markets continue to struggle with inconsistent demand for their products and services making it difficult to anticipate staff needs. As a result, a flexible workforce strategy will be critical during this point of the recovery cycle.”

Across the ten countries surveyed in the Americas region, employers anticipate varying degrees of positive hiring activity. Outlooks improve in six countries from three months ago, but improve in all countries when year-over-year comparisons are made. Regional hiring plans are again strongest in Brazil, Peru, and Costa Rica and weakest in the U.S., where hiring plans are relatively stable from three months ago but are notably stronger than those reported one year ago.

“In the U.S.,” sais Jorres, “most of the hiring that was done in the third quarter will be absorbed, yet negative outlooks are reported for just two sectors — Construction and Government. U.S. job seekers can expect to find the most opportunities in the Wholesale & Retail Trade and Mining sectors in the quarter ahead.”

Beyond.com, a resource of niche career communities, resume search for employers, and job search for candidates released today its quartlerly Career Trend Analysis Report from the 2nd quarter of 2010. This report is published on a quarterly basis and highlights national, local and industry-specific job and resume posting trends. Information is collected from its network of thousands of websites and online communities and analyzed to provide timely, accurate and up-to-date trends in the employment market.

Some of the more interesting points in the survey involve candidate resumes and employer trends:

• During second quarter 2010, over 67% of Beyond.com’s network candidates had 5 or more years of experience. Over the previous quarter, the largest percentage increase was noted in candidates with 1-3 years of experience (1.31%).
• 38.72% of network candidates just started their job search, an increase of 3.28% over the previous quarter.
• The number of diversity candidates remained consistent. 40% of network candidates were members of a minority group with African American/Black candidates representing the largest minority group with 19.87%.
• The Southern region was the majority leader for executive candidates with 26.79%. The job title of Director remained as the top executive title with 29.78% and Information Technology was noted as the top industry for executive candidates with 13.16%.
• A majority of registered companies continued to be represented by Corporations with 63.80%, followed by Recruiting Companies with 19.12%.
• Most newly registered employers had less than 10 employees with 28.33%. Other top percentages were companies with 11-50 employees (24.40%) and more than 500 employees (19.23%).
• The top three industries for employers who registered in second quarter 2010 were again noted as Information Technology (15.43%), Healthcare & Medical (7.09%), and Manufacturing & Production (6.94%).

Some other interesting findings:

• The majority of candidates on Beyond.com (31.32%) were 21-30 years old, not surprising given the recent influx of college graduates. For the second consecutive quarter, the second largest age bracket were candidates 41-50 (23.40%), followed close behind by candidates in the 31-40 age bracket (23.31%). The two lowest percentages were represented by candidates who are 61 years old and over with 3.19% and 18-20 years old with 2.50%.
• In evaluating the top job titles for executive candidates, the job title of Director remained at #1 with 29.78%. The second position was Vice President with 21.37%. The lowest percentages were represented by President (17.38%) and Manager (14.63%).
• The top industry for executive candidates was Information Technology (13.16%), followed by Management & Business with 12.36%. Other top industries included: Marketing & Advertising (10.85%), Sales & Sales Management (8.89%) and Healthcare & Medical (8.84%).
• Check out pages 38-42 and look at the difference between the the number of job postings vs. the number of candidates for most industries…

**Keep in mind of course that these findings are indicative of Beyond.com’s network and not the overall outlook of the employment situation as a whole. But it is a microcosm of what we are seeing in our business and worth taking note of.