Employment survey shows hiring intentions strong

A private sector national employment survey out today shows employment intentions are their strongest in five years despite unemployment already at a 16-year low.

The semi-annual Hudson Report found a positive outlook across all industries surveyed for the coming six months. Among the 1848 employers surveyed, a net 41.7 per cent expect to take on new staff.

Recruitment company Hudson, formerly TMP, has been conducting the survey since 1999.

General manager Greg Thompson said there was likely to be further downward movement in the unemployment rate and strong demand for "knowledge" workers that would translate into higher wages.

"Skill shortages are becoming more evident and staff retention is becoming a business critical issue as replacement costs and downtime can have a major impact on profitability," he said.

The most optimistic of the 14 industries was telecommunications (74.5 per cent), information technology (56.1 per cent), professional services (55.4 per cent) and construction/property/engineering (51.1 per cent).

The transport sector had the largest rise in optimism while the construction had the biggest fall.

Least optimistic was the tourism and hospitality sectors (24.1 per cent positive).

Small, medium and large organisations all recorded optimistic employment outlooks.

Optimism was most noticeable in the upper North Island. A net 15.4 per cent of employers said they would increase their temporary or contract staff over the next six months.

- NZPA