Employment prospects weaken, households to be hit

Employment prospects for New Zealand job seekers continue to weaken as the economy stalls, placing increasing pressure on New Zealand households, the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey said. However employers are yet to plan significant layoffs and are instead restricting new hiring, the survey found. "The New Zealand economy stalled in the first half of 2008; reducing company's profits, so employers became more hesitant in their hiring plans," said General Manager of Manpower New Zealand, Catherine Lo-Giacco. "This decrease in demand for staff will continue to put pressure on New Zealand households, as they are also faced with increasing inflationary pressures, and cost of living largely due to hefty increases in petrol and rent costs, and many households need these jobs," Lo-Giacco said. The survey of 770 employers across New Zealand reveals that employers intend to be cautious in their hiring plans for the fourth quarter of 2008, especially in comparison to the survey results reported in recent quarters. "In comparison to the results 12 months ago, employers in all of the industry sectors have witnessed a significant decline in demand, particularly employers in the Wholesale & Trade and Mining & Construction sector; declining by four and 13 percentage points respectively; and at levels not seen since the New Zealand Manpower Employment Outlook Survey started in 2004." "They are not conducting widespread layoffs across industry sectors, which are encouraging, yet we are not seeing much appetite to add staff either," said Lo-Giacco.