Fewer businesses eye new hires in 2020

The outlook for employment is still positive but fewer than usual businesses look to hire new hands.

Fewer businesses eye accepting new employees in the first quarter and the whole of 2020 although the outlook on hiring remains upbeat.

This was based on data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the result of its latest Business Expectations Survey.

“The employment outlook index for the next quarter and the next 12 months remained positive although lower at 16.6 percent and 34.5 percent, respectively, compared to the last quarter’s survey results at 19.6 percent and 35.8 percent,” the BSP said.

“This suggests that more firms will continue to hire new employees, although the number that said so are lower compared to the previous quarter’s survey,” it quickly added.

According to the BSP, the observed decrease in the employment outlook index could be traced to the moderation of hiring prospects in the industry and the wholesale and retail trade sectors.

Despite the lower employment outlook, the expansion plans among businesses over the next 12 months were higher at 38.1 percent versus only 37.9 percent posted in the previous quarter.

“For the next 12 months, higher expansion plans were recorded for the mining and quarrying and manufacturing sub-sectors but lower for the utilities and agriculture, fishery and forestry sub-sectors,” the central bank said.

Meanwhile, the survey said businesses expect financial conditions to remain tight and access to credit should continue persist.

“Firms that expected tight financial conditions increased and outnumbered those that said otherwise during the quarter,” it said.