Recruiting in China

BEIJING, March 11 (Reuters) - China's employment outlook has slumped in the wake of a new labour law, hitting its lowest since Manpower Inc (MAN.N: Quote, Profile, Research) began a quarterly survey of job market conditions three years ago, the firm said on Tuesday.

A poll of 4,055 employers in seven major cities showed that China's net employment outlook for the second quarter -- the difference between those firms adding jobs and those cutting them -- was still positive at 8 percent.

But the reading, which is seasonally adjusted, was down 7 percentage points from the first quarter and 8 percentage points from a year earlier.

Lucille Wu, managing director of Manpower Greater China, said the decline was mainly because of the new Labour Contract Law, which took effect at the start of 2008.

"The law is further regulating corporate employment activities. Furthermore, misunderstandings of some articles of the law also lead enterprises to adopt more cautious hiring activities," Wu said.

The survey showed that employers in the services sector had the strongest hiring plans; the least optimistic were in finance, mining and construction, transportation and utilities.

Big events such as the Beijing Olympic Games and the Shanghai World Expo, the policy priorities set out in China's 2006-2010 five-year plan and a positive macroeconomic environment would sustain job growth in the services industry, Manpower said.

It said the employment outlook in central and western China was quite impressive, especially in the cities of Wuhan and Chongqing, due to their booming services sector.

Taiwan was the least optimistic Asia-Pacific job market, according to Manpower's survey, while Singapore and India anticipated the strongest hiring.

For a related story on the global hiring outlook, especially in the United States, please double-click on [ID:nN10460897] (Reporting by Langi Chiang; Editing by Alan Wheatley)