"Positive changes are observed in relation to wages next year. Almost half of the companies who plan to raise wages plant a 5 percent rise, and one third plans a 6-10 percent rise," said Brodins.
The biggest changes are expected in retail sector. "Retail sector plans to employ new people, it has the biggest rotation of employees. Also changes can be expected in the financial and IT sectors, telecommunications, construction and services sectors," he said.
About 47 percent of Latvian respondents are planning to hire new employees in 2016 whereas in Lithuania and Estonia these figures were 42 percent and 40 percent respectively.
Compared to a similar survey conducted last year, demand for employees has increased only in Latvia – by 5 percent. Meanwhile demand for employees has dropped 6 percent in Lithuania and remained unchanged in Estonia.
The main reasons for hiring new employees given by the employers in the Baltic states are the increasing amount of work (50 percent) and the employee turnover (about 25 percent).
The survey was carried out online on October and November 2015, interviewing over 2,600 employers in all three Baltic states. The sample was quite small though, with 221 respondents in Latvia, 283 in Lithuania and 2,174 in Estonia.
