Employment figures on the up according to business owners worldwide

• Skills shortages lead to greater focus on recruitment and retention
• Corporate reputation key to strong workforce

Employment figures worldwide look encouraging, according to the latest research from Grant Thornton's 2005 International Business Owners Survey (IBOS). The survey asked over 6,000 business owners in 24 countries whether they had increased or decreased their workforce in the past year. Globally the workforce balance figure* has moved from +8 in 2004 to +26.

More business owners in India (+55) and Australia (+50) said they had seen an increase in their workforce, while those in the Netherlands (-12), Mexico (-3) and Sweden (-2) are the only ones to say they had seen a decrease. Regionally, NAFTA leads the way with a balance of +37, followed by East Asia (+17) with EU countries trailing with a balance of +6.

While business owners say employment figures are up, they also say that the shortage of skilled workers is a big constraint on business expansion. Twenty eight per cent of business owners say that the availability of a skilled workforce is a major constraint with those in New Zealand (50 per cent), Russia (45 per cent) and Australia (44 per cent) feeling this most acutely.

In this tightening labour market, half of all business owners say they have become more focused on attracting and retaining staff in the last year. Highest results come from the Philippines where 92 per cent said they were more focused, India (80 per cent), Mexico (75 per cent) and South Africa (71 per cent). In other countries where skill shortages are acute, like Australia and New Zealand, there has also been a greater focus on attracting and retaining staff with 65 per cent and 66 per cent respectively.

In countries like Singapore, Italy, France and Germany where the lack of workforce skills is not seen as a serious constraint, the proportion of respondents focusing more on attraction and retention of staff is quite low.

Andrew Godfrey, Head of International and European Services, Grant Thornton comments: "The lack of availability of a skilled workforce reflects strengthening demand and a tightening labour market in many countries, consistent with the upward phase of the economic cycle. It is not surprising in this climate that we are also seeing a renewed vigour in attracting and retaining staff. In India and South Africa where there is a healthy economic environment, this need is particularly acute. However, the converse applies in Singapore and some European countries like Italy and France where workforce skills are not seen as such a big issue."

IBOS 2005 also asked business owners about factors they thought were important in attracting and retaining staff. A good corporate reputation tops the list with 84 per cent believing it was a very important factor, followed by an understanding of core values, mission and goals (77 per cent) and training (69 per cent).

Notes to editors

The Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey (IBOS) was carried out among over 6,300 owners of medium sized businesses from 24 countries during Autumn 2004. IBOS began in 2003 and builds on the European Business Survey (EBS) which Grant Thornton ran from 1993 to 2002. The research was conducted by Experian Business Strategies Limited and Harris Interactive. Further information can be found on the website www.grantthorntonibos.com .