A SURVEY of employer sentiment has shown Western Australian industry to be the most positive in the country, with more than double the number of businesses planning to add staff compared to the rest of the nation.
The latest employment expectations report from human resources group Hudson shows the state’s employer sentiment had a 7 percentage points rise in hiring intentions over the quarter to hit a net 57 per cent, its highest level since 2008.
This was more than 29 percentage points higher than Australia’s net national average which has slipped 2.8 percentage points during the last quarter to net 27.9 per cent, its lowest point in two years.
The report reflects the views of 3,840 employers across Australia surveyed in late August. Apart from the contrasting geographic picture it also shows the large divergence between resources, professional and business services, and IT, compared with the rest of the economy.
Hudson said the results showed the Australian labour market was reflecting broader global uncertainty as well as the already strong differences between sectors resulting from a two-speed economy.
Construction/property and engineering is WA’s most confident sector, with a net 83.8 per cent of employers planning to increase permanent headcount over the coming three months, the highest sentiment ever recorded in the report’s 10-year history of publishing.