Taiwan's healthcare industry to see strong hiring outlook in Q4: Poll

Taipei, Sept. 13 (CNA) Taiwan's healthcare and life science industry continued to show a strong hiring outlook for the fourth quarter of this year due to a lingering talent shortage, according to the latest survey by human resources advisory firm ManpowerGroup.

After seasonal adjustments, Taiwan's overall net hiring outlook index during the October-December period stood at 16 percent, down from 19 percent in the previous quarter but unchanged from the same period last year, the survey found.

The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey (MEOS), which reflects hiring confidence among employers, calculates the 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 38 percent of 630 employers polled in Taiwan said they expected to hire more people in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, 21 percent said they anticipated a decline in hiring and 38 percent said their hiring plans remain unchanged.

This translated into a third-quarter net employment outlook index of 17 percent before seasonal adjustments, and 16 percent after seasonal adjustments, according to ManpowerGroup.

The healthcare and life science industry reported the strongest hiring outlook among the major industries in Taiwan, with a net hiring score of 46 percent, up 10 percentage points from a quarter earlier. ManpowerGroup said the industry suffered a serious shortage of nurses and doctors for ER and critical care, prompting hospitals to raise compensation to retain talent.

In addition, biotech firms are keen to develop emerging treatments such as cell and gene therapies and precision treatment, which has boosted demand for specialists, ManpowerGroup said.

The net hiring outlook of the financial, insurance, and real estate industry also improved to 40 percent in the fourth quarter, up 16 percentage points from the third quarter as the government has pushed for the wealth management 2.0 program, triggering a new round of recruitment campaigns by financial firms, ManpowerGroup said.

On the other hand, the information technology industry, which includes tech services providers and semiconductor suppliers, saw its hiring outlook plunge with a net hiring score falling to 3 percent in the fourth quarter, down 22 percentage points from the third quarter.

ManpowerGroup said the weakness reflected concerns over uncertainties created by the U.S. tariff polices as many firms have become cautious about international trade, while artificial intelligence development helped to mitigate the impact from the tariffs as AI-related firms, including some multinational companies stayed willing to expand capacity in Taiwan.

Of the seven economies in the ManpowerGroup survey from the Asia Pacific region, India had the highest net hiring outlook for the fourth quarter at 40 percent, ahead of China (34 percent), Australia (24 percent), Singapore (20 percent), Taiwan (16 percent) and Japan (12 percent), while Hong Kong was at the bottom with 6 percent.

Among the 42 economies surveyed worldwide, ManpowerGroup said a total of 20 reported an expected increase in hiring in the fourth quarter, and 26 indicated they will cut hiring, according to the survey.