WESTERN Australia’s employers remain the most bullish in the country with more than half expecting to add staff in the next quarter. According to the latest employment expectations by human resources company Hudson, 52.4 per cent of WA employers anticipate increased permanent employment levels in the June quarter, while 3.5 per cent expect to reduce staffing levels, translating to a net effect of +48.9 per cent. Based on more than 7,000 respondents Australia-wide, the state lead the nation despite a decrease of 2.7 percentage points from employment expectation figures recorded for the previous quarter. Nationally, 34.3 per cent of employers expected to lift staff numbers. Hudson WA general manager Neville Andrews said the strong result came despite the construction, property and engineering sectors as well as resources experiencing significant decreases in confidence, suggesting some concern regarding key markets like China. Confidence levels in the professional services sector was very strong, the survey found, which Hudson said was most likely “driven by a high level of merger and acquisition activity combined with a number of ongoing restructuring projects within some major corporations”.