Chinese employers forecast modest hiring trends in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the newly released Employment Outlook Survey from ManpowerGroup.

For the final quarter of the year, 16 percent of employers expect to increase their staffing levels, while only 2 percent plan to decrease the number of workers. And 46 percent of Chinese employers said they wouldn’t make any changes to their current workforces in the next three months, which is 1 percentage point stronger quarter-over-quarter and 3 percentage points stronger year-over-year.

Chinese employers also expect to grow staffing levels in all six industry sectors and all nine regions.

"The current business climate is putting pressure on China’s labor market, while the impetus to drive domestic demand growth remains insufficient. Employers still expect hiring to continue at a steady, but not spectacular, pace, in the quarter ahead despite China’s promising market signals," said Zhang Jinrong, managing director of ManpowerGroup China.

In order to help out small and micro enterprises suffering financial problems, the Chinese government suspended value-added tax and turnover tax for these businesses with monthly sales of less than 20,000 yuan ($3,226) in late July.