Hong Kong companies’ plans to hire new staff have nosedived following the euro zone crisis and the volatility of the mainland Chinese economy, with a survey suggesting only one in four are looking to increase headcounts later this year, down from about one in two in a previous survey.
International recruitment agency Hudson polled 274 local companies last month. It found 25.5 per cent are looking to increase headcounts later this year, down from 52.1 per cent in a poll conducted at the beginning of this year.
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After tumbling the most since the financial crisis on July 8 amid a record surge in volatility, the Hang Seng Index rebounded Thursday to its biggest gain in three months. Photo: Felix Wong
“There are various challenges economically. External factors like the euro zone crisis with Greece as well as what has been happening in the Chinese economy. It affects the sentiment with regards to what the economy may look like,” said Siddharth Suhas, Hudson’s director of Hong Kong and Guangzhou.
Suhas also said that companies are making “strategic hires” instead of recruiting more back-office staff. “Strategic hires” refers to professionals who can help companies grow when the economy is in difficult times.
“Those employers looking to increase headcounts are ones making strategic hires where they believe they will get the most value such as business development, customer experience and revenue-generating roles,” he added.
In the professional services industry, such as accounting firms, 36.7 per cent are planning to increase headcounts, down from 66.7 per cent in the previous survey.
For the banking and financial services industry, it also came down significantly from 65.1 per cent to 29.3 per cent. It dropped from 54.1 per cent to 16 per cent in the consumer and retail sector.
news source & image credits: scmp.com
