Employment outlook in the finance and insurance sector remains weak despite the impact of digital disruption and a candidate shortage, according to the ManpowerGroup.
Employers in the finance and insurance sectors have reported weaker hiring plans for the second quarter of 2017, with 12 per cent of employers in the sector intending to increase hiring in the coming quarter, while 83 per cent did not intend to make any changes to their hiring plans.
The ManpowerGroup’s Employment Outlook Survey for the second quarter of 2017 showed employers reported a four percentage point decline in hiring intentions from the previous quarter but the hiring outlook still stood at +7 per cent, and +8 per cent in terms of seasonally adjusted outlook.
This was the weakest labour market in eight years in the April-June period.
Marks Sattin (an Experis company forming part of Manpower Group) director, Neil McDonald, said a combination of digital projects and candidate shortage was affecting hiring trends in the sector.
“We are seeing a shift from permanent recruitment to part time and project-based roles in the finance industry,” McDonald said.
“The reason for this is three-fold – broader economic uncertainty, large transformation projects, and a lack of skilled candidates in this field. This trend will likely continue in the short-medium term.”
All 1,511 employers across different sectors, including the finance and insurance sectors, were asked how they anticipated total employment at their location to change in the three months to the end of June 2017 as compared to the current quarter.
The year-on-year outlook for the finance and insurance sector also look bleak, with the survey showing a decline of six percentage points from the previous quarter.
This compared to an increase of 18 percentage points in the mining and construction sector while the outlook for the services sector is seven percentage points stronger.
