Johannesburg - South African employers reported flat hiring prospects for the second quarter of this year, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released yesterday.
Manpower South Africa said 10 percent of employers expected a decrease in workforce and 79 percent forecast no change. The resulting net employment outlook was 0 percent.
It said this figure was derived by subtracting the percentage of employers that expected to see a decrease in employment at their location in the next quarter from the percentage of employers that expected an increase in total employment.
The survey was conducted by interviewing a representative sample of 750 employers.
ManpowerGroup released its global survey at the same time, which indicated that the headwinds encountered in many global labour markets might be moderating amid numerous signs of measured optimism among employers.
The South African survey said employment prospects were expected to be strongest in the electricity, gas and water supply sector, the finance, insurance, property and business services sector, and the mining and quarrying sector.
Employers reported an outlook decline of 6 percentage points compared with the previous quarter. Year-on-year hiring prospects were 2 percentage points weaker.
Once the data were adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, the outlook remained at 0 percent. Hiring intentions declined by 4 percentage points quarter on quarter and 2 percentage points year on year.
Employers in two of the five regions surveyed expected to grow payrolls during the second quarter. The most optimistic hiring prospects were reported in the Free State, with a net employment outlook of plus 11 percent, and Gauteng, whose outlook was plus 5 percent.
However, employers reported negative outlooks in three regions. The weakest labour markets were expected in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, with outlooks of minus 5 percent and minus 4 percent, respectively.
Manpower SA said employers reported a weaker outlook than the previous quarter in three of the five regions.
Hiring intentions declined by 9 percentage points in the Eastern Cape and decreases of 7 percentage points were reported in both the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. The outlook for the Free State, however, was 12 percentage points stronger.
Hiring prospects weakened in three of the five regions on a year-on-year basis. Employers in the Eastern Cape reported a decrease of 10 percentage points while outlooks were 5 percentage points weaker in both KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.
Elsewhere, hiring intentions strengthened by 11 percentage points in the Free State and Gauteng employers reported a 3 percentage point increase.