Hiring expected to pick up in 4th quarter

ROSY ENOUGH Call center employees work on their shift at E-Telecare call center in Makati City in this 2006 file photo. Additional workers are expected to be hired by businesses in the fourth quarter of 2011, based on a survey finding by the Philippine central bank. However, growth in hiring may not match previous levels. PDI FILE PHOTO / ROMY HOMILLADA

Companies are expected to hire additional workers in the fourth quarter, but growth in hiring may not match previous levels because the existing production capacity of enterprises is said to be enough to meet any increase in demand.

A survey among companies conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed that the employment outlook index for the fourth quarter stands at +16.6 percent.

This is lower than the 23.2 percent reported for the third quarter, and the +21.1 percent seen in the fourth quarter of 2010.

A positive index means that more respondents have plans to hire additional workers in the fourth quarter than those who say otherwise.

“Employment outlook declined but remained positive in all sectors, indicating a slowdown in hiring for the next quarter,” the BSP said in a report.

According to the central bank, the fact that the employment outlook index is still positive means that more jobs may be created in the fourth quarter. However, the number of new hires may be less than those seen in the previous quarter or in October last year.

For the last three months of the year, the average capacity utilization rate of respondent firms is reported to be at 74.5 percent lower than the 76.1 percent seen the previous quarter.

But year on year, the latest average capacity utilization rate was lower than the 76.1 percent in the previous quarter and lower than the 74.1 percent in the same period last year.

BSP officials said the positive employment outlook index is anchored on expectations that the Philippine economy would stay afloat despite the lingering turmoil in the Western economies.

Lingering concerns on the debt situation in the eurozone, however, gave a generally cautious outlook among investors, and so any plans to expand and hire more workers are expected to be moderate.

The eurozone is one of the biggest export markets, and plays host to many overseas Filipino workers.

Latest report from the National Statistics Office showed that unemployment rate stood at 7.1 percent as of October.

The government hopes to further trim down the unemployment rate as it aims for the economy to grow between 4.5 and 5.5 percent for this year.

There were 1,617 small, medium, and large firms that were included in the survey, which had a response rate of 76.4 percent.