Taiwan’s Q4 hiring outlook improves on AI boom: ManpowerGroup

People attend a job fair at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei on March 24. Photo courtesy of National Taiwan Normal University via CNA

Taiwan’s hiring outlook for the fourth quarter of this year improved with the information sector reporting the strongest hiring prospects during the current artificial intelligence (AI) boom, a survey released yesterday by human resources advisory firm ManpowerGroup Inc showed.

Thirty-seven percent of 651 employers polled in Taiwan said they expected to hire more people in the fourth quarter, while 10 percent said they anticipated a decline in hiring and 52 percent said their hiring plans remain unchanged, the survey showed.

That translated to a fourth-quarter net employment outlook index of 27 percent before seasonal adjustments, and 26 percent after seasonal adjustments, ManpowerGroup said.

The figure was up from 17 percent in the third quarter and 16 percent a year earlier, which the advisory firm said showed signs of improvement in hiring outlook.

Among major business sectors, the information sector had the highest hiring outlook for the fourth quarter with a net employment outlook of 42 percent, up 23 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Employers in the sector demonstrated a strong willingness to hire in a wide range of positions such as in development and operations, AI application development, communication systems and cybersecurity to meet demand for AI and digital transformation, ManpowerGroup Taiwan general manager Sandy Chang said.

The construction and real-estate sector was second with a net employment outlook of 41 percent, up sharply from 5 percent in the third quarter, the survey found.

The hiring outlook in the sector has significantly improved as AI developers and high-end semiconductor suppliers seek to expand production, accelerating the pace of construction of new offices and plants, Chang said.

The trade and logistics sector reported the third highest net hiring outlook at 35 percent, up 19 percentage points from a quarter earlier.

Employers in the sector largely aimed to expand their talent pools to meet online business needs and enhance automation in logistics, Chang said.

Of the 11 Asia-Pacific economies in the ManpowerGroup survey, India had the highest net hiring outlook for the fourth quarter at 54 percent, ahead of the United Arab Emirates at 41 percent and Vietnam at 36 percent, the advisory firm said.

Taiwan was seventh at 26 percent, while Japan was at the bottom at 7 percent, it said.

All of the 42 economies surveyed reported positive hiring outlooks in the fourth quarter, while Taiwan’s score was slightly below the global average of 29 percent in the quarter, the survey found.