Taiwanese employers may show less interest in hiring in the first quarter of next year from this quarter, as companies reduce their investments due to uncertainty around the world, a survey released by ManpowerGroup said yesterday.
The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based employment agency’s survey showed that 31 percent of the 1,010 Taiwanese employers polled anticipated increasing their workforce in the first quarter next year, down from 38 percent recorded in the last survey, while 5 percent predicting a decrease, up from 4 percent in the survey in September.
Meanwhile, 60 percent of all Taiwanese employers polled in the survey said that they would leave their current workforce intact, the US employment agency said.
“Businesses are hesitating with investments due to uncertainty around the world, and this includes their investment in talent,” ManpowerGroup chairman Jeffrey Joerres said in a press release.
Employers in the service sector plan to rein in hiring in the first quarter of next year after optimizing their workforce at the end-of-year festival season and the Lunar New Year, the release said.
“We take it as a normal adjustment because employers precisely evaluate the amount and quality of workforce they want in the first quarter of the coming year,” said Joan Yeh (葉朝蒂), operations director of temp business at ManpowerGroup Taiwan.
For the other five sectors polled, opportunities for job seekers are expected to be bright in the transportation and utilities, wholesale and retail trade, mining and construction and the manufacturing sectors, with finance, insurance and real-estate sectors reporting the least optimistic hiring plans.
While Taiwan’s hiring confidence in the first quarter next year may show an overall slowdown, its job prospects remain the most optimistic surveyed globally, the agency said in a report.
The research shows softer forecasts in 21 of 42 countries and territories compared with three months ago.
Despite an overall positive outlook for Taiwan, Manpower is seeing signs that many of the employers are exploring alternative workforce strategies due to the unclear economic situation.
“Taiwan’s employers are looking into more diverse and flexible labor arrangements, such as contingent workforce strategies,” Yeh said.
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