Employers' hiring expectations plummet

New Zealand employers don't expect to be doing much hiring of new staff in the next three months, according to a report released today.

One quarter of employers surveyed intend to reduce permanent staffing levels during the April to June 2009 quarter.

The remaining three-quarters intend to increase or hold their current staff levels steady.

The Hudson Report: Hiring Expectations, a survey of New Zealand organisations, shows a net effect of negative 11.3 per cent for the period April to June 2009. Net effect refers to the number of employers expecting increases in staff levels less the number expecting decreases.

This result is 19.2 percentage points lower than that recorded in the company's previous survey and is the lowest level recorded since the survey began in 1999.

"With cost and demand pressures on businesses mounting, some employers have had to rapidly reassess their workforce strategies. We are seeing some employers talking to their employees about reductions in salary levels or offering flexible working practices, such as job sharing, to help retain the talent they've worked so hard to develop while also addressing the current financial challenges they face," said Marc Burrage, executive general manager at Hudson.

The New Zealand unemployment rate has risen to 4.6 per cent in the December 2008 quarter from 4.2 per cent the previous quarter, and up from a low of 3.4 per cent a year ago.

The country has experienced four consecutive quarters of negative growth, culminating in a 0.9 per cent contraction in the December 2008 quarter.

Forecasts are for another two or three further quarters of negative growth, with the unemployment rate predicted to continue rising for at least the next 18 months, say Hudson.