More than half the nation's companies anticipate an improvement in the business climate and are planning to expand this year, according to an opinion poll released yesterday.
A survey conducted by the 1111 Human Resource Bank (1111
Only about 10 percent of the companies surveyed said they would reduce staff levels, the poll, conducted between Jan. 30 and Feb. 15, found.
The survey also showed that 52.69 percent of companies planned pay rises for their staff as long as the recovery continues.
Supermarket chain Carrefour, which was one of the companies surveyed, has announced that it will need 450 more people this year to work at its stores nationwide, while hardware store chain B&Q is planning to enlarge its staff by 5 to 10 percent this year.
Computer and electronics companies and stocks and securities firms have already begun hiring more people even though many high-tech companies have relocated part of their manufacturing operations to China during the past few years, according to Wu Jui-ying (
The 1111 Human Resource Bank conducted the poll via Internet, fax and telephone interviews. It obtained valid responses from 300 companies.
In another poll conducted during the same period, 1111 found that 37 percent of the nation's salaried workers changed jobs after the Lunar New Year holiday.
The poll, with 1,777 valid responses, found that job seekers spent an average of 1.6 months finding new employment.
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