ManpowerGroup’s survey for hiring in Australia gives positive result.

ManpowerGroup’s Employment Outlook Survey for the last quarter of 2019 says Australian employers are reporting respectable hiring intentions. With 17 per cent of employers anticipating an increase in payrolls, 5 per cent forecasting a decrease and 77 per cent expecting no change, the resulting Net Employment Outlook is +12 per cent. Once the data is adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, the Outlook stands at +11 per cent. Hiring plans decline by two percentage points when compared with the previous quarter, and are three percentage points weaker when compared with this time one year ago.

Participating employers are categorised into one of four organisation sizes: Micro businesses have less than 10 employees; Small businesses have 10-49 employees; Medium businesses have 50-249 employees; and Large businesses have 250 or more employees. Workforce gains are expected in all four organisation size categories during the coming quarter. Large employers report the strongest hiring plans with a healthy Net Employment Outlook of +24 per cent. Medium employers expect a steady hiring pace, reporting an Outlook of +15 per cent, while the Outlook for Small firms is +9 per cent. Meanwhile, Micro employers report a cautious Outlook of +1 per cent.

In a comparison with the third quarter of 2019, Large employers report a decline of eight percentage points. However, hiring prospects are unchanged for Micro firms, and remain relatively stable in both the Small- and Medium-size categories.

When compared with this time one year ago, Medium- and Large-size employers both report decreases of three percentage points. However, Micro employers report relatively stable hiring plans, while the Outlook for Small employers is unchanged.

Payroll gains are anticipated in all eight regions during the forthcoming quarter. The strongest labour market is expected in New South Wales where the Net Employment Outlook stands at +16 per cent. Respectable job gains are forecast for two regions with Outlooks of +12 per cent – Victoria and Australia Capital Territory (ACT) – while the Outlook for Tasmania is +11 per cent. Queensland employers anticipate moderate payroll growth, reporting an Outlook of +10 per cent, and some hiring opportunities are forecast for Western Australia where the Outlook is +8 per cent. The weakest labour markets are expected in South Australia and Northern Territory, with Outlooks of +4 per cent percentage points in both Tasmania and ACT, while the South Australia Outlook decreases by seven percentage points. However, slight improvements of two percentage points are reported in both Northern Territory and New South Wales.

The hiring climate weakens in five of the eight regions when compared with this time one year ago. South Australia employers report a noteworthy decrease of seven percentage points, and Outlooks are five and four percentage points weaker in Victoria and Queensland, respectively. Meanwhile, Northern Territory employers report an improvement of four percentage points, while hiring plans remain relatively stable in New South Wales.