Introduction Of ERA Does Not Affect Hiring Levels According To New Survey
Contradicting months of hype by lobby groups, the vast majority of businesses believe the Government's new employment
legislation will have no impact on the number of people they employ, a survey released today shows.
The six monthly job index survey, conducted by recruitment consultants Morgan and Banks, shows that 72.7% of employers
indicate that the new Employment Relations Act will have no significant impact on their hiring levels.
23% thought the new act would have a negative impact, and 5% believed it would have a positive effect.
The survey analysed the expectations of employers from all major industries of varying sizes.
Chief executive of Morgan and Banks, Alastair Sutherland, said larger businesses were more positive than smaller
businesses about the effects of the ERA.
“Overall businesses are far happier with the ERA than they initially anticipated,” he said.
Employers from the engineering and media industries, at 51.7% & 40.9% respectively, were most likely to believe that the new act would negatively affect hiring levels.
Employers from the legal industry (90.0%) were most likely to think the ERA would not effect their normal hiring
patterns, while employers from the electronics (12.5%) and tourism (12.0%) sectors were the most likely to indicate that
the new Act would have a positive impact on hiring levels, Alastair Sutherland said.