Most businesses freeze wages; hopes to hire in '10

Media statement Monday, December 7th 2009

Most businesses on wage freeze. Employers hope to hire in 2010

Just over half of employers said they gave no wage increases at all over last year, according to EMA Northern's Annual end of year Employment Round Up survey.

But job prospects for those laid off during the recession are looking brighter next year.

"A third of employers say they may want to increase the number of their permanent employees in the first half of 2010," said David Lowe, EMA's Employment Services Manager. (Full results from the Survey are linked here http://www.ema.co.nz/Advocacy/docs/EndOfYearEmploymentRoundup2009Results.pdf).

"Slightly more, 40 per cent of the survey's 759 respondents, say they may hire more permanent employees in the second half of the year.

"Most businesses, 60 per cent including both large and small, reported they are doing alright or are coming right, with a further 23 per cent saying they are coming right.

"But 16 per cent of businesses are 'concerned,' and two per cent think they may not survive. Smaller businesses predominate amongst these.

"A third of employers reported they used reduced working hours to control costs over the past year. Attrition and redundancy were used by 55 per cent and 53 per cent of respondents respectively.

"Reducing pay has clearly been a last resort; only 9 per cent of employers took that step.

"Of the employment law changes that employers want, changing the Holidays Act and the personal grievance laws were nominated the top priorities.

"The Government has announced reviews on both and has certainly got it right.

"The 90 day employment trial periods are proving very successful. 72 per cent of the 414 employers with less than 20 staff in the survey use the 90 trial periods in their employment offers but only 48 of them (11 per cent) have terminated an employee under the provision.

"EMA has been deeply concerned at reports from employers advising that grievance claims were being taken against them because Work and Income New Zealand had been encouraging new unemployment benefit applicants to do this as the only way that former employees could get social welfare assistance when they needed it.

"An alarming 56 employers say they had personal grievances lodged against them to achieve this."

ENDS

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