INTOUCH : Employers optimistic about hiring

Hiring expectations among New Zealand employers continue to rise as businesses turn their attention to planning for future growth, according to the latest Hudson Report. Employer sentiment has now built on the turnaround in the September quarter with net effect of 10.7 percent of employers now intending to increase permanent staff levels during the next three months.
The Hudson Report: Hiring Expectations shows the improvement from last quarter has gained momentum with the shift towards increasing headcount moving up six percentage points to 21.9 percent this quarter. Employers intending to reduce their permanent staff levels continued to decrease from 15.3 percent to 11.2 percent for the quarter. Meanwhile the proportion of employers intending to maintain current staff levels remained steady at 66.9 percent from 68.8 percent.
“The June quarter of 2009 was the first quarter of positive growth since the end of 2007 so there is sense that the worst of the downturn is now behind us” says Marc Burrage, executive general manager at Hudson. “Slowly but surely businesses are starting to see signs that they are edging out of the downturn. Having carefully managed their businesses through the recession, employers are now starting to shape their organisation for future growth, but they will be taking these steps gradually.”
While managing costs still remains top priority, employers are developing new business strategies to take full advantage of market opportunities and looking to ensure they have the right mix of skills, says Burrage.
“With many organisations operating at full capacity, some employers are considering taking on additional staff, in order to manage the workload and reduce stress on existing staff. This is borne out by the increasing number of employers intending to take on contractors or temporary staff.”