Taipei, Taiwan (8 Sep 2009)
The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today reveals that while opportunities for job seekers remain uncertain in much of the world, Taiwanese employers are forecasting modest hiring plans in the forth quarter of 2009. With the previous quarter’s encouraging revival, Taiwan’s employers are expressing cautious optimism and reporting positive hiring intentions. Meanwhile, the next quarter will continue to challenge job seekers around the world, but employer hiring expectations have improved somewhat from three months ago in nearly two thirds of the countries and territories surveyed, suggesting an easing in the pattern of job cuts prevalent for several quarters.
“Clearly, the current financial tsunami continues to impact job prospects throughout Taiwan. Nevertheless, the government’s policy to revitalize the country's soft economy is likely to stimulate domestic consumption and growth, and increase employment. While many organizations continue to hire very selectively, the vast majority of employers are telling us that they will take a ‘wait and see’ approach before hiring or further reducing staff. Thus, we are not anticipating any major fluctuations in the labor market in the quarter ahead. We believe hiring intentions will rebound in the near future,” said Terence Liu, General Manager of Manpower Taiwan.
“Although we’re off the pace of hiring compared to last year at this time, a greater percentage of employers are telling us they will add employees in the final months of the year now that the slump seems to be stabilizing. Many companies said they intended to hire new employees in the coming months, with sales professionals the most in demand. In fact, a number of companies need to fill vacancies in critical positions. Job seekers should be patient - companies are more confident in the recovery and are starting to interview candidates again, but they are screening candidates carefully and the hiring process still remains slow,” commented Terence.
Of the 1,128 employers interviewed in Taiwan this quarter, 26 percent anticipate increasing their workforces, while 9 percent expect to reduce their payrolls; 64 percent say they plan no changes in staff numbers. Once the Net Employment Outlook is adjusted for seasonal variations, it stands at +5%, which remains unchanged when compared to last quarter (Q3 2009) but 8 percentage points weaker when compared to the same time last year (Q4 2009).
Employers in the Transportation & Utilities industry sector are reporting the most optimistic hiring intentions (+26%) for this quarter. The special government tourism promotion is intended to target 3,000 arrivals per day from mainland China and should stimulate additional activity in the Transportation & Utilities sector.
“We are facing another critical problem. A record high unemployment figure of 5.94% was recorded in June, up from 5.82% the previous month. The number of people out of work reached 647,000 in June, 14,000 more than in May. The unemployment rate is expected to rise between 0.3% and 0.4% during the May to August period as nearly 140,000 new graduates enter the job market. The unemployment rate in recent months is still expected to be higher than in past years due to the global downturn.” Terence says.
On a global basis, employers in 17 of 35 countries and territories surveyed expect some positive hiring activity in the quarter ahead. Those in 15 report negative hiring expectations, while those in 10 report their weakest hiring plans since their surveys were established. Employers in 31 countries and territories are reporting weaker year-over-year forecasts. Fourth-quarter hiring plans are strongest in India, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, China, Australia, Singapore, Costa Rica, Canada, Taiwan and Poland and weakest in Romania, Spain, Ireland, Japan and Mexico. Hiring plans are strongest in the emerging markets of India and Brazil, while job prospects remain weak in the United States. However, a greater percentage of U.S. employers expect to keep staff levels unchanged in the quarter ahead, suggesting some stability. Across Europe, hiring sentiments remain generally negative but forecasts have improved in nearly half of the countries compared to the third-quarter forecast.
The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on 8 December 2009 to report hiring expectations for the first quarter of 2010. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is available free of charge to the public through their local Manpower representative in participating countries. To receive e-mail notification when the survey is available each quarter, interested individuals are invited to complete an online subscription form at: http://investor.manpower.com/investors/alerts.cfm.
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