The Spring Business seminar on the Economy and the Labor Market

Wednesday 30 May, members of SCCE and FECC gathered for a jointly arranged Business Seminar on the Economy and the Labor Market.

Tiina Helenius, Handelsbanken’s Chief Economist in Finland, took a closer look at current signs and trends in the economy based on the bank’s spring 2018 Macro Economic Outlook. Rait Matiisen, Solutions Sales Manager at Manpower, addressed the labor market with a focus on, among other issues, salary inflation and employer expectations vs. candidate expectations.

– The global growth cycle is passing its peak and it deserves to be noted that business cycle upturns normally ends with higher wages and inflation as well as higher interest rates, said Tiina Helenius.

– The three latest major global recessions were the result of bursting of asset bubbles; the 1990-91 commercial real estate, savings and loans crises; the 2001 dotcom bubble; and the 2008 housing bust and mortgage underwriting crisis.

– Bubble-driven cycles represent the new normal, concluded Tiina Helenius.

– Employee remuneration is more than just the salary, it’s a total value proposition consisting of both financial and non-financial benefits and motivation factors, said Rait Matiisen.

– On the financial side, and as a couple of examples, we have bonuses, paid overtime, additional private pension funds and sponsored studies. And on the non-financial side we often find a canteen in the workplace, arranging or covering part costs of transport to and from the workplace, membership in Chambers of Commerce as well as social associations.

– In terms of recruiting, forget the pursuit of an ideal candidate! Instead, focus on the currently available, motivated – interested in your job proposal – candidate with optimal skills. Welcome to contact me for advice; rait.matiisen@manpower.ee, +372 526 6176, concluded Rait Matiisen.

We would like to thank Tiina and Rait for their presentations and all members for active participation.