Employment Outlook Survey: Weak Prospects in Wgtn

Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Reveals Weak Job Prospects in Wellington for the Second Quarter of 2009

SYDNEY, Mar. 10/Medianet International-AsiaNet/ --

Manpower Employment Outlook Survey

According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today, the employment prospects for job seekers in Wellington has declined further as employers place their decision making on hold in the second quarter of 2009.

The Manpower survey of 868 employers throughout New Zealand revealed a pessimistic hiring intention for Wellington’s employers over the next three months and is the continuation of a downward trend since Quarter 3, 2007.

The Wellington employment market shows dim prospects for job seekers in the April – June quarter of 2009, with a Net Employment Outlook of -13%, a decline of 27 percentage points quarter-over-quarter; the weakest outlook since the New Zealand survey began in Quarter 4 2004.

``Hiring intentions in New Zealand have continued to fall in the last three months however there is some good news with the majority of employers indicating they will make no reductions to their current headcount,’’ said Lincoln Crawley, Managing Director, Manpower Australia and New Zealand.

From the recent survey data, there has been a widespread decrease in hiring intentions in all three regions, with employers in Wellington the most hesitant to take on employees. Across five of the seven industry sectors, there has also been a decline, with employers in Manufacturing, Mining & Construction, Finance, Insurance and the Real Estate industry sectors making the biggest pull back in hiring. However, there are positives in Transportation and the Utilities sector where employers are anticipating some headcount gains.

``The Net Employment Outlook continues to decline as we head into the second quarter of 2009 but as no one can predict when the economic situation will improve, employers need to be prepared for the upswing. This means retaining top talent and adopting a flexible workforce approach so they have access to the right skills at the right time," Crawley said.

ENDS

Download the New Zealand Manpower Employment Outlook Survey at www.manpower.co.nz/documents/Q2-09NZ-MEOS.pdf.

Manpower Fact Sheet
The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on the 9th June 2009 to report hiring expectations for the third quarter of 2009. The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is available free of charge to the public through their local Manpower representative in participating countries. You can download a copy of the Australian report in full, at www.manpower.co.nz/meos.

© Scoop Media