Hungary, South Africa and Germany were among the few countries to escape widespread drops in recruitment activity, according to multi-sector recruiter Antal’s Q4 Global Snapshot.

South Africa experienced some of the most positive recruitment results, as 92% of businesses in the fast moving consumer goods were hiring in Q4 of 2008.

The survey shows that in the UK 28% of respondents currently looking for staff at managerial and professional level in contrast to 31% in the last survey in the autumn, while only 18% were expecting to hire over the next three months, down from 48% in September.

Recruitment levels in Germany increased from Q3 to Q4, with 81% of companies recruiting as opposed to 57% in Q3.

Hungary experienced a significant downturn, with activity levels dropping from 74% to 45%. Confidence has been hit and only 17% of firms now plan to hire new staff in Q1 of this year. In contrast Hungary’s neighbour, Romania, bucked the trend, with a 37% increase in demand, to 54%.

Antal’s global chief executive, Tony Goodwin, says: “Rather than being a classic downturn, this one seems to be developing a very specific nature, which hits certain countries and sectors, whilst leading others relatively or completely unscathed.”