Government stimulus boosts employer confidence
Manpower Australia and New Zealand managing director, Lincoln Crawley, said the low interest rates and the federal government's ongoing economic stimulus seemed to be flowing through to hiring intentions.
"The third quarter of 2009 shows some positive signs for job seekers with an increase of three percentage points from last quarter combined with the majority of employers indicating they will make no reductions to their current headcount (71%).
"This supports our prediction of a 'wait and see' approach from the last two quarters – employers are playing it safe and holding onto key staff members and waiting till the economy improves before making pertinent headcount decisions."
But Crawley said the employment outlook was still relatively weak compared with historical patterns.
On a regional basis, Australia's positive 2% employment outlook placed it ahead of countries such as Japan (-6%), Hong Kong (-3%) and New Zealand (-5%), but behind regional employment powerhouses India (19%), Taiwan (5%) and China (3%).
While China and India still reported positive net figures, their employment outlooks were the weakest since the survey began in 2003 and are still declining.