Taipei, June 15 (CNA) Hiring is expected to pick up in Taiwan in the third quarter because of the need for increased manpower in the service and retail sectors during the summer season, the latest survey by human resources advisory firm ManpowerGroup has found.
Taiwan's net hiring outlook was 22 percent for the July-September period, up 3 percentage points from a quarter earlier but down 1 percentage point from the same period a year earlier, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.
The survey, which reflects hiring confidence among employers, calculates its net employment outlook after seasonal adjustments by subtracting the percentage of employers anticipating a decline in total employment from the percentage expecting an increase.
In the latest survey in Taiwan, about 29 percent of employers forecast an increase in payrolls while 4 percent anticipated a decrease and about 67 percent expected the size of their workforce to remain the same.
The 25 percent difference became 22 percent after seasonal adjustments, ranking Taiwan second among the eight countries and regions in the Asia Pacific region in the third quarter, up one notch from the previous quarter.
Japan was first in the region with a net hiring outlook of 25 percent, and Hong Kong was third at 16 percent, while China came in last at 8 percent, ManpowerGroup survey data showed.
Among the seven major industries in Taiwan, the services and retail/wholesale industries both reported the highest net hiring outlook of 29 percent for the third quarter, up 2 percentage points and 13 percentage points, respectively, from a quarter earlier.
ManpowerGroup said the service sector will benefit from the rising popularity of e-commerce, and the retail and wholesale sector will see rising demand for manpower during the upcoming peak season.
The engineering and construction sector came in third with a net hiring outlook of 27 percent in the third quarter, up 11 percentage points from a quarter earlier, as some overseas Taiwanese companies are investing back in Taiwan to avoid the fallout of the United States-China trade war.
The manufacturing sector saw its net hiring outlook for the third quarter fall 1 percentage point from a quarter earlier to 17 percent, the lowest level among the eight industries, the survey showed.
ManpowerGroup said the cautious outlook in the manufacturing sector largely reflected uncertainty from the trade standoff, prompting many employers to put their hiring plans on hold.
