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Employers downbeat on hiring for fourth quarter

Taiwanese employers reported weaker hiring intentions for the second consecutive quarter, with all six sectors surveyed anticipating a decrease in their staffing demand, according to a quarterly report released yesterday.

Of the 1,711 employers interviewed, 22 percent expect an increase in hiring in the fourth quarter, 6 percent foresee a decrease, and 48 percent say there will not be any change in their workforce levels, according to a report from Manpower Services (Taiwan) Co.

This resulted in a "net employment outlook" figure -- used as a comparative measure by subtracting the number of employers planning to reduce staffing levels from the number planning to hire staff -- of 16 percent in Taiwan, said Dennis Lee (李崇領), Manpower Services' general manager, at a press conference. That represents a sharp drop from the third quarter's 24 percent.

Still, in the first seven months of the year, the nation's unemployment rate averaged 4.17 percent, compared with 4.5 percentage points a year earlier, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said last month.

But the higher cost of oil is likely to hit the local manufacturing sector, push up food prices, increase the cost of transportation and production and eventually reduce employment growth, the survey said.

"The labor market is losing some steam due to economic factors such as gasoline price hikes, and employers are beginning to take a more cautious approach to hiring," Lee said.

Skyrocketing oil prices have hurt already sagging exports, pushing down the nation's economic growth rate to 3.65 percent for this year, following an increase of 5.71 percent last year, the DGBAS said on Aug. 18.

Among the six sectors polled, the most bearish hiring outlook was reported by employers in transportation and utilities (9 percent), wholesale and retail trade (9 percent) and mining and construction (8 percent) sectors, the report said.

The service sector, however, had the most buoyant view, with a net employment outlook figure at 21 percent.

Chan Wei-hsiung (詹偉雄), editor-in-chief of the Chinese-language Business Next (數位時代) magazine, observed that the service sector is facing a turning point where entrepreneurs might see golden opportunities to build up small-scale but successful careers thanks to the changing needs of the manufacturing sector.

"Manufacturing companies are investing more resources in branding, such as BenQ Corp's (明基) takeover of Siemens AG's handset unit, as well as establishing design teams to boost the value of their products, as in the case of Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) and Lite-On Technology Corp (光寶科技)," Chan said.
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