Employers urged to keep headcount steady

Employers urged to keep headcount steady as unemployment continues to rise

Media Statement - 6 August 2009

Randstad today advised employers not to make redundancies that could leave them in a vulnerable position when the economy improves, following figures released from Statistics New Zealand that show the unemployment rate rose for the sixth consecutive quarter to 6 per cent.

Deb Loveridge, CEO of specialist recruitment and HR services group, Randstad, believes that if employers continue to make deep cuts in their workforce, they may be significantly compromised when economic conditions become more positive. Loveridge added that now is the time when decisions should be made about how an organisation’s workforce should be structured for the end of the recession, and look towards future rebuilding.

“It is understandable that given this long, deep recession, employers will still be worried about surviving and will be looking for ways to reduce costs at a time when increasing revenue may not be an option.

“But this recession has been with us for some time now and there are predictions that this could be our last quarter in recession. If employers wait until the economy has fully recovered, they will be left behind, particularly if their competitors made the decision to get their workforce ready for the upturn,” said Loveridge.

“Employers need to look at the performance of their current workforce, and whether they could cope with a rise in business demand. It’s a very difficult balancing act, to ensure their employees can plough through the tough times and then adapt for better times in the future. This can be achieved through providing staff with flexible working options, shorter working weeks or offering sabbaticals to travel or to continue further education and training.”

During the June 2009 quarter, the number of people unemployed went up by 20.6 percent to reach 138,000. However, while full time employment fell by 18,000, the number of part time roles increased 7,000 during the June quarter, indicating that flexibility is a key strategy for maintaining workforce productivity.

In the latest quarter, the labour force participation rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 68.4 percent. The female participation rate fell to 62.1 percent, while the male participation rate rose to 75.2 percent.

ENDS

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