Employment intentions boosted by RWC

New Zealand employers have pushed against the grain of a global downward trend for hiring intentions in the final quarter of 2011 amid a RWC veil of enthusiasm.

Manpower Employment Outlook’s latest survey shows 29% of New Zealand employers expect to increase hiring, up from 26% last quarter, with the number of employers planning on decreasing their hiring rates dropping to 6% from 9%.

Managing director of Manpower group Australia and New Zealand Lincoln Crawley, said local employers were riding a ‘wave of enthusiasm’ triggered by the Rugby World Cup.

“The Rugby World Cup is a major driver of employment optimism for the fourth quarter with New Zealand expected to deliver something very special to the world. The benefits and flow-on effects of the event are creating positive expectations among many New Zealand employers, particularly in manufacturing and hospitality.”

Employers in manufacturing and services, including hospitality, have shown the most optimistic hiring intentions for this year’s final quarter, with the net employment outlook for the sectors rising from 24% last quarter to 33% for manufacturing, and with services rising from 23% in Q3 to 30%.

Hiring intentions in the mining and construction sector, howeve,r have fallen from an unusually strong level of 42% last quarter, to a more typical yet optimistic 31% due to the high demand for natural resources.

Mr Crawley said that the Christchurch rebuild has driven a majority of construction demand this year.

This new sentiment is reflected in the overall employment outlook for the Christchurch region, which rose 10 percentage points to 32% for the fourth quarter.

“There is a sense of expectation for the ‘new’ Christchurch as a rejuvenated major business centre for New Zealand. The rebuilding effort is picking up speed and there is renewed energy and confidence in the region, which is also contributing to increased hiring intentions across the country,” he said.

But Mr Crawley warned the surrounding excitement of the Rugby World Cup was only masking the external economic pressures affecting New Zealand’s neighbours.

“Regardless of hype, employers are still watching what’s happening globally."

“We’ve seen an upturn in contract and temporary placements, which suggests a reluctance from many employers to make more permanent hiring decisions, preferring to adopt a ‘wait and see’ approach”.
New Zealand employers were one of a few to report an improved net employment outlook since last quarter, surpassing the employer optimism reported in Australia (16%), China (20%), Hong Kong (21%), and Japan (10%).

“New Zealand employers are the most optimistic they have been since the end of 2007 – we‟re clearly running at a different pace to the rest of the world right now, and that pace involves a rugby ball in one hand and a giant kiwi flag in the other,” said Mr Crawley.