Hiring outlook for Q3 in energy, utility sectors hits new low: Survey

Taipei, June 15 (CNA) The hiring outlook for the third quarter in Taiwan's energy and utility sectors fell to a new low as costs continue to rise, according to the latest survey by human resources advisory firm ManpowerGroup.

Taiwan's overall net hiring outlook index for the third quarter, however, rose to 18 percent from 10 percent for the second quarter after seasonal adjustments and was also higher than the 15 percent recorded for the third quarter of 2023, the advisory firm said, citing a survey.

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, which reflects hiring confidence among employers, calculates its net hiring index by subtracting the percentage of employers anticipating a decline in the size of their workforce from the percentage expecting an increase.

The survey found that 39 percent of the 630 employers in Taiwan polled in May expected to hire more people in the third quarter and 21 percent expected to cut hiring, with 39 percent saying they would leave their workforce unchanged.

That translated to a third quarter net hiring outlook index of 18 percent both before and after seasonal adjustments, according to ManpowerGroup.

In the energy and utility sector, the net hiring outlook for the third quarter plunged to minus 64 percent, tumbling 91 percentage points from 27 percent for the second quarter, the survey found.

Lai Yi-wen (賴怡文), an executive partner with ManpowerGroup, said in a statement that with costs on the rise, wind power developers appeared less willing to invest in Taiwan, which has affected the supply chain at a time when no major hiring campaigns are planned.

According to ManpowerGroup, the energy and utility sector registered the lowest hiring outlook among the nine major business sectors in Taiwan.

In contrast, the health care and life science sector reported the strongest hiring outlook for the third quarter among the nine sectors, with the net hiring index up 23 percentage points from a quarter earlier to 43 percent, the survey found.

Lai said the increase came as hospitals and other medical service providers were keen to boost their talent pools to accelerate smart medical care development in Taiwan's aging society.

Many medical service providers were also eager to expand their workforce to resolve looming long-term labor shortages, and large pharmacy chains also pushed demand for manpower higher to support intensified expansion efforts, Lai said.

The transport, logistics and automotive sector reported the second highest net hiring outlook index for the third quarter of 41 percent, up slightly from 40 percent in the second quarter, according to the survey.

The third quarter hiring outlook for individual fields within the sector weakened, but that was offset by rising airline demand for flight crew personnel amid a boom in the tourism industry.

In third was the industrial and materials sector with a net hiring outlook index for the third quarter of 31 percent, up 20 percentage points from a quarter earlier, ManpowerGroup said.

The improving hiring outlook in the sector reflected solid demand for the construction of new facilities by high-tech firms, the expansion of social housing, and more reconstruction projects after a massive earthquake hit Hualien in early April, Lai said.

Of the seven economies in the ManpowerGroup survey from the Asia Pacific region, India had the highest net hiring outlook for the third quarter at 30 percent, ahead of China (28 percent), Singapore (20 percent) and Taiwan (18 percent), while Hong Kong was at the bottom at 8 percent.

Among the 42 economies in the survey worldwide, ManpowerGroup said a total of 10 reported an expected increase in hiring in the third quarter, and 32 will cut hiring, according to the survey.