THE amount of new jobs in the ACT is likely to drop next year, with less companies planning to hire new staff.

The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey shows that in the ACT, there is a 2 per cent drop in companies expecting to increase hiring in 2012 from the last quarter, which recorded 29 per cent. It also shows a 2 per cent increase in companies planning to decrease hiring, up from 9 per cent from the last quarter.

ManpowerGroup Australia and New Zealand’s managing director, Lincoln Crawley said employers in the ACT are pondering recent Federal Government pushes towards greater efficiencies, and translating this into potentially less staff for the new year.

“The Government is the largest employer for the Canberra region, and there is currently some uncertainty around longer-term prospects for those working in the public sector. This uncertainty inevitably leaks into other parts of the local economy, so hiring intentions have dropped since last quarter,” Mr Crawley said.

Overall, the Australian employment market is holding firm in the face of global market uncertainty, with employers in the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey reporting a net employment outlook of +14 per cent for the first quarter of 2012.

In Australia, 23 per cent of employers expect to increase hiring, while the number of employers planning to decrease hiring is at 10 per cent.

According to Mr Crawley, the job market is showing resilience in comparison to other markets: the United States’ NEO is just +9 per cent, while the United Kingdom is at 0 per cent.