HONG KONG: Job postings fell off in the first quarter of this year, marking the first downward trend since the second quarter of 2004, a poll has found.

The survey of 101 companies found that the number of positions offered slid 0.04 percent during the first quarter of this year.

The average job vacancy rate for the first quarter stood at 1.89 percent, 2.71 percentage points lower than for the same period last year.

The community, social or personal services sector recorded an overall job vacancy rate of 4.28 percent, the highest among the trades.

A spokeswoman for the Institute of Human Resource Management, which carried out the survey in April, said the reason for the relatively more healthy situation in the social service sector probably is that it has not been hit as hard by the global financial crisis as private firms.

Among the trades, the retail sector had the highest turnover rate of 3.79 percent, That was 0.7 percentage point higher than the turnover rate in the property development, real estate or construction sectors.

Meanwhile, the survey also found that the average turnover rate for the first quarter was 1.56 percent, the lowest since the poll was initiated in 2003.

Wilfred Wong Kam-pui, the group's president, said the first quarter's turnover rate is usually the lowest of the year, since most workers will stay on until they get their year-end bonuses.

The poll also found that 11.1 percent of companies plan to recruit fewer new workers in the second quarter than they had originally planned.

About a third of respondents expected to stick to their original recruitment plans for the second quarter.

Some 45.5 percent of companies said they plan to freeze hiring during the second quarter. That's an 18 percent decline over the previous quarter.

"Firms had higher intentions to recruit workers than in the previous quarter. The response was positive," said Wong. "This provides a boost in confidence for fresh graduates."

He expected job seekers will have a better chance to find jobs in the second quarter and expressed the hope companies will not offer reduced salaries when hiring recruits.

"Firms should offer reasonable pay and fringe benefits to attract high-quality workers," he said.

Wong declined to predict how private firms will react if civil servants are given a pay cut this year.

The institute has reported manpower movement data in the city's job market quarterly since 2002.

(HK Edition 06/10/2009 page1)