Hong Kong employers eye boost in headcount in second half of 2014

Employment expectations are very bullish.

The latest Hudson Report: Employment Trends that has been released shows that nearly half (47.8%) of employers expecting to increase headcount over the second half of 2014.

According to a release from Hudson, this is a jump of 9.6 percentage points (pp) from the first quarter and the strongest reading since Q4 2011.

Meanwhile, employers looking to decrease headcount has hit a three year low of 1.6%, dropping 4.5pp. The remaining 50.6% of employers, the release said, are intending to keep headcount steady, a decline of 5pp.

“Improved local business conditions spurred by the gradual recovery of the global economy have injected more confidence into the Hong Kong market.

Companies are looking to take on more staff to ensure they are ready to capitalise on opportunities when the economy picks up,” said Tony Pownall, General Manager of Hudson Hong Kong.

Here's more from Hudson:

“In a market such as this, we increasingly see organisations focused on ensuring the talent they select is innovative, adaptable and most of all efficient. Continual transformation is the new normal and today’s workforce needs to have the flexibility to drive business success,” added Pownall.

When looking at industry sectors, Manufacturing & Industrial has the strongest intentions to hire with 53.6% of employers looking to increase headcount over the next six months, followed by Consumer (49.2%) and Banking & Financial Services (44.8%).

“Within the Manufacturing & Industrial sector, we are seeing more demand for real estate and property management roles, while strong gains in the Consumer sector is being driven by growing demand for talent from the FMCG and retail segments.” said Pownall.

Positive hiring intentions in the Consumer sector grew 10.9 pp contrasting with declines in the latter half of 2013 and stable results in Q1 2014.

“Retail operations roles, such as store managers and visual merchandising are sought after in the market. For FMCG, demand is high for brand managers, e-commerce and client relationship managers.”