Business sector at odds with federal government’s unemployment forecast

Publish Date: Wednesday January 20, 2010

The majority of private sector employers do not believe Australia’s unemployment rate will reach the level predicted by the federal government, according to the Michael Page Employment Index for January.

More than two thirds of respondents rejected the view that Australia’s unemployment rate will reach 6.75% by mid 2010. The unemployment rate currently stands at 5.5% after falling from a mid 2009 high of 5.8%.

Growing confidence in the business outlook is further illustrated by improved hiring intentions, with 23% of companies surveyed reporting that they were hiring for new positions in January. This represents a 10% increase on the figures recorded for December.

Of those companies recruiting new staff in January, 73% are hiring on a full-time basis, followed by 20% for contract roles and 7% for part-time positions. In relation to experience levels, 58% of employers are focusing on mid-level positions followed by 23% who are hiring at the junior level.

The majority of survey respondents predict the white-collar skills shortage will return as a business issue in the first half of 2010. Retaining staff will be crucial and 71% of employers believe staff retention in the first quarter of 2010 will be more important than previous years.

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