<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Hiring continues despite fears of recession
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Francis Chan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THERE are plenty of firms here which expect a recession but plenty more believe that their own hiring plans will not be derailed by a downturn.
The findings from a survey by an employment services consultancy indicate that bosses are keeping focused on the long term despite the growing short-term uncertainty.
The Achieve Group polled more than 800 human resource (HR) decision-makers, from medium-sized firms employing at least 50 people to multinational companies based here.
It found that 51 per cent expect a recession in the next 12 months but a striking 76 per cent do not believe the slowdown will impact their hiring plans. Only 21 per cent plan to either cut or freeze hiring while only 3 per cent believe they will have to axe staff.
Achieve Group chief executive Joshua Yim said the survey showed that despite economic uncertainty, most employers were still 'willing to continue hiring staff to meet their needs for the second half of 2008'.
A similar survey released by HSBC's commercial banking unit last month showed that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seemed more optimistic.
None of the 300 SMEs it polled planned to cut staff this year.
But Achieve said its survey did show that compared to 'general market sentiments over the last two quarters', the job scene now favours employers more, so big pay rises are out.
The survey found that 74 per cent of respondents would offer increments of less than 10 per cent to new hires.
And while recruiters from the finance, real estate and information technology (IT) sectors said they would still be prepared to offer 10 per cent or more in salary increments, it remains cold comfort to many job- seekers.
Mr Xu Chin Lian, 33, who is between jobs, told The Straits Times: 'Save for real estate, finance and IT-related jobs require specific qualifications which many, like me, do not have. So for me, that's bad news, especially when we are already facing rising costs and inflation.'
And Mr J. Arun, 42, who works in a major IT consultancy firm, added: 'That's not really good news; just three years ago when I switched between multinational IT (firms), I got a 40 per cent pay bump.
'Guess times are really bad and I don't see any improvements until at least the end of 2010.' Job-seekers and employers seem to share the gloomy outlook. Achieve said that almost half of the firms expecting a recession believe the downturn will last one to two years.
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Francis Chan
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->THERE are plenty of firms here which expect a recession but plenty more believe that their own hiring plans will not be derailed by a downturn.
The findings from a survey by an employment services consultancy indicate that bosses are keeping focused on the long term despite the growing short-term uncertainty.
The Achieve Group polled more than 800 human resource (HR) decision-makers, from medium-sized firms employing at least 50 people to multinational companies based here.
It found that 51 per cent expect a recession in the next 12 months but a striking 76 per cent do not believe the slowdown will impact their hiring plans. Only 21 per cent plan to either cut or freeze hiring while only 3 per cent believe they will have to axe staff.
Achieve Group chief executive Joshua Yim said the survey showed that despite economic uncertainty, most employers were still 'willing to continue hiring staff to meet their needs for the second half of 2008'.
A similar survey released by HSBC's commercial banking unit last month showed that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) seemed more optimistic.
None of the 300 SMEs it polled planned to cut staff this year.
But Achieve said its survey did show that compared to 'general market sentiments over the last two quarters', the job scene now favours employers more, so big pay rises are out.
The survey found that 74 per cent of respondents would offer increments of less than 10 per cent to new hires.
And while recruiters from the finance, real estate and information technology (IT) sectors said they would still be prepared to offer 10 per cent or more in salary increments, it remains cold comfort to many job- seekers.
Mr Xu Chin Lian, 33, who is between jobs, told The Straits Times: 'Save for real estate, finance and IT-related jobs require specific qualifications which many, like me, do not have. So for me, that's bad news, especially when we are already facing rising costs and inflation.'
And Mr J. Arun, 42, who works in a major IT consultancy firm, added: 'That's not really good news; just three years ago when I switched between multinational IT (firms), I got a 40 per cent pay bump.
'Guess times are really bad and I don't see any improvements until at least the end of 2010.' Job-seekers and employers seem to share the gloomy outlook. Achieve said that almost half of the firms expecting a recession believe the downturn will last one to two years.
