The global manufacturing sector will continue to lead job creation in the third quarter of the year, according to Manpower’s Employment Outlook Survey, which is released today. The survey by one of the world’s biggest recruiters, which is used by the Bank of England and Wall Street as an economic indicator, also suggests that European companies have not yet changed their hiring plans because of the current economic turmoil in the eurozone.

The report paints a picture of improving employer optimism in the global labour market, with companies in 30 of 36 countries and territories indicating a greater appetite to take on new workers compared with last year and 23 reporting improved quarter-on-quarter hiring plans.

The survey comes as investor confidence in the economic recovery remains fragile. Markets plunged last week after data revealed that the private sector in the US created only 41,000 jobs in May, far fewer than economists had been expecting.