Financial sector employment sentiment holding steady

Hiring intentions in the finance, insurance and real estate sectors have held their ground despite a national trend downwards, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook survey.

The net employment outlook for the finance, insurance and real estate sector stood at +27 per cent, as opposed to +16 per cent for the national net employment outlook. Thirty-two per cent of companies in the sector were looking to increase their hiring, down from 37 per cent in the last quarter.

Employers in the sector were adopting a 'wait and see' approach, according to Manpower Group Australia managing director Lincoln Crawley.

"Renewed global economic uncertainty is never a good sign for this sector, but employers aren't panicking. Instead of the deep and impulsive workforce cuts we saw last time the global outlook looked grim, employers aren't making any sudden movements. They may not be increasing hiring but, most importantly, they haven't decreased it," Crawley said.

He added that Australia was playing "piggy in the middle" between the strong sentiment in China (where the outlook is +20 per cent) and the weak demand in the US (where the outlook it +7 per cent).

"The Asia Pacific region, including Australia, has a much more positive hiring outlook than most other places in the world," Crawley said.