Taipei: Taiwan's hiring outlook for the fourth quarter of this year improved with the information sector reporting the strongest hiring prospects during the current AI boom, according to a survey released by human resources advisory firm ManpowerGroup on Tuesday.
According to Focus Taiwan, the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey (MEOS) showed that Taiwan's net employment outlook in the fourth quarter was 26 percent after seasonal adjustments. This figure marked an increase from 17 percent in the third quarter and 16 percent a year earlier, as indicated by data from the advisory firm.
The survey calculates its net hiring index by subtracting the percentage of employers anticipating a decline in their workforce from the percentage expecting an increase. It found that 37 percent of 651 employers polled in Taiwan expected to hire more people in the fourth quarter, while 10 percent anticipated a decline in hiring, and 52 percent indicated their hiring plans would remain unchanged. This resulted in a fourth-quarter net employment outlook index of 27 percent before seasonal adjustments, and 26 percent after adjustments, according to ManpowerGroup.
Among the major business sectors, the information sector recorded the highest hiring outlook for the fourth quarter with a net employment outlook of 42 percent, up 23 percentage points from the previous quarter. In a statement, Sandy Chang, general manager of ManpowerGroup Taiwan, noted that employers in this sector displayed a strong willingness to hire for a variety of positions such as development and operations (DevOps) talent, AI application developers, and communication system and cybersecurity experts to meet global demands for AI and digital transformation.
The construction and real estate sector followed closely with a net employment outlook for the fourth quarter at 41 percent, a sharp increase from 5 percent in the third quarter. Chang highlighted that the sector's hiring outlook improved significantly as AI developers and high-end semiconductor suppliers are eager to expand production, thus accelerating the construction of new offices and plants.
The trade and logistics sector reported the third highest net hiring outlook at 35 percent for the fourth quarter, a rise of 19 percentage points from the previous quarter. Chang explained that employers in this sector aimed to expand their talent pool to meet online business needs and strengthen automation in logistics.
Of the 11 Asia-Pacific economies surveyed by ManpowerGroup, India had the highest net hiring outlook for the fourth quarter at 54 percent, followed by the United Arab Emirates (41 percent) and Vietnam (36 percent). Taiwan ranked seventh with 26 percent, while Japan was at the bottom with 7 percent.
Globally, among the 42 economies surveyed, ManpowerGroup reported that all exhibited positive hiring outlooks for the fourth quarter. Taiwan's score of 26 percent was slightly below the global average of 29 percent, as noted in the survey.