Scared by the financial tsunami, employees were more cautious about hopping between jobs in the third quarter, according to a survey by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management.

The same phenomenon applied to employers, as they were equally cautious about employing new staff or filling vacancies.

As in previous years, the institute has prepared quarterly surveys tracking labor-market movements in Hong Kong.

In the third quarter, it surveyed 101 companies with more than 104,000 staff under their employ. The overall quarterly staff-turnover rate was found to be 4.23 percent, dropping by 0.13 of a percentage point against the last quarter and dropping by 0.31 year-on-year. In particular, the retail sector recorded the highest turnover rate of 14.88 percent.

For job vacancies, the overall average quarterly rate was 3.77 percent, dropping by 0.13 of a percentage point against the second quarter and 0.2 year-on-year.

"We expect the labor market will continue to face difficulties for a prolonged period, but it is hard to project when the situation will hit rock bottom," Wilfred Wong, president of the institute, said yesterday.

He added that the survey was done in July-September when the market was still upbeat, so he expects the fourth-quarter survey will more fully reflect the situation.

Referring to the recent spate of company closures and lay-offs, Wong said the dark clouds of headcounts are looming over the labor market. He called on employers to consider measures such as cost saving or restructuring and only use layoffs as the last resort.

Even if it is totally necessary to lay off staff, he said, enterprises should communicate well with the affected staff to help them survive the difficulties.

"Enterprises should cherish their human assets," he said. "Otherwise, they will lose the fine staff when the financial situation improves."

(HK Edition 11/26/2008 page1)