Western Australia has recorded one of the larger falls in employer confidence as nearly 20 per cent of bosses across the country plan to cut staff numbers in the June quarter, a new survey has found.
The Hudson Report Employment Expectations showed confidence of the state's employers dropped 13.7 percentage points from the previous quarter to a record low of 0.9 per cent in the March quarter.
Queensland recorded the largest fall with 13.9 percentage points to 3.9 per cent.
New South Wales and Victoria were the only states to record a negative net sentiment, meaning there were more businesses intending to cut staff than hire new workers.
The ACT showed the strongest confidence at 17.3 per cent while South Australia recorded 7.7 per cent.
Nationally, employer confidence has dropped four-fold to 0.8 per cent, the lowest level since the survey started more than eight years ago.
The survey of 6,337 employers found 17.8 per cent plan to cut staffing levels, 18.6 per cent intend to hire more workers and 63.6 per cent intend to maintain permanent staffing levels.
Hudson Australia/New Zealand chief executive Mark Steyn said the number of employers looking to reduce staff had jumped three-fold over the past year.
"It's clear the uncertainty that has been created within the business community by the global financial crisis continues to cause significant headaches for Australian employers," Mr Steyn said in the report.
He added that firms were struggling to make long-term strategic decisions in the current environment.
"This is impacting hiring intentions and we see this sentiment continuing in the short-term at least," Mr Steyn said.
The results come as Treasurer Wayne Swan today said he expects the national unemployment rate to pass the previously forecast 7 per cent.
