Rougher Road Ahead for Job Seekers

New Zealand Employers Continue to Indicate Rougher Road Ahead for Job Seekers in the First Quarter of 2009

SYDNEY, Dec. 9 /Medianet International-AsiaNet/ --

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of New Zealand hiring trends released today reveals the pace of hiring is set to slow further in the first quarter of 2009.

The Manpower survey interviews over 753 employers throughout New Zealand and indicates their hiring intentions for the next three months. This quarter, the hiring pace has fallen considerably, with the Net Employment Outlook declining from +9% for quarter 4 of 2008 to +0% in the next three months. Significantly, the year-on-year decline of 20 percentage points brings the Net Employment Outlook to its least optimistic level since the survey began in the second quarter of 2004.

``Hiring intentions in New Zealand have continued to fall in the last three months and the majority of employers are telling us that they will take a ‘wait and see’ approach before hiring or further reducing staff, so until then, it will be a rougher road for job seekers,’’ said Catherine Lo-Giacco, General Manager, Manpower New Zealand.

From the recent survey data, there has been a widespread decrease in hiring intentions in all three regions, with employers in Auckland the most hesitant to take on staff. Across five of the industry sectors, there has also been a decline, with employers in Manufacturing, Wholesale & Retail Trade and the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate industry sectors making the biggest pull back in hiring.

According to Lo-Giacco ``The Net Employment Outlook is the weakest it has been since the survey started in New Zealand. Although hiring is expected to slow, employers need to be absolutely sure that they explore alternative employment options and remain flexible.’’

ENDS

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