Western Australian employers are taking a cautious approach to hiring in the lead up to Christmas as they evaluate the possible long-term impacts of the uncertainty in global financial markets, according to report released today.
The Hudson Report Employment Expectations survey of 401 WA-hiring managers revealed 46.9 per cent of employers intend to increase staff levels during the final three months of the year, 5.2 per cent plan to decrease staff and 47.9 per cent intend to maintain headcount.
Hudson WA general manager Andrew Tomich said while the result represented a decline in confidence of 11 percentage points from the third quarter, it was important to remember that the local employment market is coming off the back of record high sentiment.
"To a degree, employers in WA are insulated from the impacts of the general economic downturn; however there is little doubt that the current level of uncertainty has forced them into a position where they are reluctant to hire any new employees for the time being," he said.
"Locally, the Varanus Island gas explosion in July had a short-term impact on some businesses and resulted in a number of job losses but on the whole we have not seen significant ongoing ramifications for the WA labour market."
Employer sentiment in the resources sector dropped 16.6 percentage points on the past quarter, its lowest point in 18 months.
"The resources sector continues to demonstrate the highest level of employer confidence in the state. The decline in confidence this quarter is in response to recent falls in some commodities prices and soft economic data in China, which created a level of nervousness within the sector," Mr Tomich said.
