<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published June 9, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>More employers plan to hire than fire in Q3
Survey shows sharp turnaround - but analysts caution things could change
By TEH SHI NING
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(SINGAPORE) Employers here have turned cautiously optimistic with their hiring plans for the next three months, the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey has found.
The sharp turnaround in net employment outlook quarter-on-quarter from negative 43 per cent to positive 5 per cent, showed that there are now more employers who expect to increase hiring versus those who expect to cut headcount in the third quarter.
Of the 697 employers from seven industry sectors interviewed here, the majority - 74 per cent - now expect to retain their present headcount in Q3. Another 12 per cent plan to raise headcount, 7 per cent say they could reduce it while 7 per cent are unsure of their plans.
Although the net employment outlook remains 32 percentage points below what it was a year ago, it does indicate a significantly more optimistic labour market, especially when compared to the two previous quarters of negative job growth, Manpower Inc, the US-based employment services firm, said.
In fact, of the 34 countries and territories which Manpower surveyed worldwide, Singapore's employment prospects showed the largest quarter-on-quarter improvement.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>David Cohen, director of Asian economic forecasting at Action Economics said that the next round of official employment figures for the first half of this year, due next month, are still likely to show deterioration. 'But this improved sentiment offers some encouragement that unemployment will have levelled off by then.'
He added: 'There's still uncertainty as Singapore's recovery is very much dependent on the global growth trajectory. But my strong sense is that the economy has bottomed out, and is starting to support the labour market.'
Manpower Singapore's country manager Philippe Capsie agreed that the survey's results indicate 'that the worst may be behind us'. 'The positive hiring plans could possibly also be due to government intervention to help slow the trend of downsizing,' he said, referring to the Jobs Credit Scheme and Spur.
But Mr Capsie also sounded a note of caution. 'Despite improving employer confidence, employees and job seekers should still remain prepared for a second wave of retrenchments as the economy could continue to contract in the months ahead,' he said.
Looking at the survey results by industry sector, it becomes apparent that the hiring outlook remains downbeat in sectors such as finance, insurance and real estate, and construction.
Prospects are especially dim for the manufacturing sector, which reported a seasonally adjusted net employment outlook of minus 29 per cent. This was 15 percentage points up from the second quarter's outlook, but still 53 points below last year's levels.
This is not surprising given that manufacturing has always been more cyclical and exposed to recessions than services, Mr Cohen said.
Renny Yeo, president of the Singapore Manufacturers' Federation, said that although sentiment among members has definitely improved, business is still down.
The slight uptick in manufacturing orders in recent months is also believed to be due to restocking of inventories rather than a sustainable rebound, he said. 'Visibility is still low but we should have a clearer picture by July or August, when any restocking should have been done and increased orders start to reflect real demand,' he said.
In terms of how this would impact manufacturing jobs then, Mr Yeo said: 'There will be some retrenchments to come still, but I think the rate of retrenchments will drop.'
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>More employers plan to hire than fire in Q3
Survey shows sharp turnaround - but analysts caution things could change
By TEH SHI NING
<TABLE class=storyLinks border=0 cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>(SINGAPORE) Employers here have turned cautiously optimistic with their hiring plans for the next three months, the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey has found.
The sharp turnaround in net employment outlook quarter-on-quarter from negative 43 per cent to positive 5 per cent, showed that there are now more employers who expect to increase hiring versus those who expect to cut headcount in the third quarter.
Of the 697 employers from seven industry sectors interviewed here, the majority - 74 per cent - now expect to retain their present headcount in Q3. Another 12 per cent plan to raise headcount, 7 per cent say they could reduce it while 7 per cent are unsure of their plans.
Although the net employment outlook remains 32 percentage points below what it was a year ago, it does indicate a significantly more optimistic labour market, especially when compared to the two previous quarters of negative job growth, Manpower Inc, the US-based employment services firm, said.
In fact, of the 34 countries and territories which Manpower surveyed worldwide, Singapore's employment prospects showed the largest quarter-on-quarter improvement.
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He added: 'There's still uncertainty as Singapore's recovery is very much dependent on the global growth trajectory. But my strong sense is that the economy has bottomed out, and is starting to support the labour market.'
Manpower Singapore's country manager Philippe Capsie agreed that the survey's results indicate 'that the worst may be behind us'. 'The positive hiring plans could possibly also be due to government intervention to help slow the trend of downsizing,' he said, referring to the Jobs Credit Scheme and Spur.
But Mr Capsie also sounded a note of caution. 'Despite improving employer confidence, employees and job seekers should still remain prepared for a second wave of retrenchments as the economy could continue to contract in the months ahead,' he said.
Looking at the survey results by industry sector, it becomes apparent that the hiring outlook remains downbeat in sectors such as finance, insurance and real estate, and construction.
Prospects are especially dim for the manufacturing sector, which reported a seasonally adjusted net employment outlook of minus 29 per cent. This was 15 percentage points up from the second quarter's outlook, but still 53 points below last year's levels.
This is not surprising given that manufacturing has always been more cyclical and exposed to recessions than services, Mr Cohen said.
Renny Yeo, president of the Singapore Manufacturers' Federation, said that although sentiment among members has definitely improved, business is still down.
The slight uptick in manufacturing orders in recent months is also believed to be due to restocking of inventories rather than a sustainable rebound, he said. 'Visibility is still low but we should have a clearer picture by July or August, when any restocking should have been done and increased orders start to reflect real demand,' he said.
In terms of how this would impact manufacturing jobs then, Mr Yeo said: 'There will be some retrenchments to come still, but I think the rate of retrenchments will drop.'
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