More hiring than firing: Survey shows sentiment has changed but HR analysts remain cautious

EMPLOYERS planning to hire will outnumber those looking to shed workers in the third quarter of the year, according to a survey.

This marks a turnaround in hiring sentiments by Singapore bosses for the first time this year, said global human resource consultancy Manpower Staffing Services (Singapore).

Of the three surveys the consultancy has done so far to gauge hiring sentiment this year, this is the first to show more employers planning to hire rather than fire.

The poll of 697 employers shows 74 per cent intending to maintain the status quo. What is significant, though, is that 12 per cent of the bosses surveyed intend to raise their headcount against the 7 per cent looking to cut staff.

This works out to a net employment outlook of 5 per cent for July to September, a figure that reflects hiring sentiment.

Though the net figure is modest compared to the 37 per cent recorded in the same period last year before the financial crisis hit, it marks a sharp about-turn from the first half of the year.

Manpower Staffing Services (Singapore)'s surveys of the first two quarters showed the net employment outlook buried deep in negative territory.

In fact, it was minus 43 per cent in the second quarter, the bleakest showing since the firm started its survey in Singapore in the third quarter of 2003.

The optimistic outlook this time is driven mainly by a big swing in hiring sentiment in the service sector, transport and utilities, plus wholesale and retail trade.

These three sectors have more employers looking to hire than fire compared to the other four sectors polled. But even among the four, which include finance and manufacturing, fewer of the companies say they plan to ask their workers to go.

- The Straits Times