Australian employers report positive hiring intentions in Q1 2019

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey has revealed that hiring prospects have remained relatively stable in comparison with this time a year ago, despite a rocky 2018 that has left many loose ends.

Australia’s net employment outlook stands at +14 per cent in the January to March period, unchanged from the previous quarter.

ManpowerGroup noted that workforce gains are anticipated in all four organisation size categories during the forthcoming quarter.

Large employers report the strongest hiring intentions with a healthy net employment outlook of +25 per cent; medium employers forecast steady job gains, reporting an outlook of +17 per cent; while the outlook in the small- and micro-size categories stand at +9 per cent and +3 per cent, respectively.

Looking at separate areas of the country, Manpower revealed that employers in all eight regions expect to grow payrolls during the coming quarter.

The strongest labour markets are anticipated in Victoria and Tasmania with outlooks of +16 per cent and +15 per cent, respectively, while the weakest are reflected in the South Australia outlook of +10 per cent.

Payrolls are also forecast to increase in all seven industry sectors during the next three months.

Mining and construction sector employers report the strongest hiring prospects with a solid net employment outlook of +22 per cent, while the manufacturing sector is seen to remain behind with a 7 per cent score.

In comparison with the final quarter of 2018, hiring prospects decreased the most in the finance, insurance and real estate sector, by 6 percentage points, but remained flat on the year.

ManpowerGroup interviewed over 60,000 employers across 44 countries and territories to forecast labour market activity in January-March 2019. In Australia alone, the recruiter quizzed 1,500 employers.