Employment confidence has fallen, with 69 per cent of companies surveyed by the Manpower Group saying they would not be increasing staffing levels in the current quarter.

The survey reveals a sharp decline in the employment intentions of employers compared with the previous quarter, when 95 per cent of respondents said they planned to increase or maintain staffing levels.

Manpower's Quarterly Survey of Employment Prospects uses a "net job gains" percentage as a key indicator. The figure is calculated by subtracting the percentage of firms expecting a decrease in staffing levels from the percentage expecting a rise. That indicator was 16 per cent of wholesale firms surveyed down from 34 per cent in the previous quarter. In business services, it was 26 per cent down from 38 per cent, while it was 18 per cent in the wholesale sector down from 28 per cent in the previous quarter.

But in construction, 26 per cent of companies expect to increase their workforce, marginally down on the 30 per cent recorded in the previous quarter. In retailing, the figure was 10 per cent compared with just 4 per cent in the previous quarter, while it was 43 per cent for pharmaceuticals, down from 48 per cent.

In finance, 36 per cent expect to take on more staff compared with 41 per cent in the second quarter. And 26 per cent of IT companies expect to increase their workforce compared with 21 per cent in the second quarter.

Regionally, 18 per cent of firms surveyed in Connacht expect to increase their workforce, while in Munster it is 24 per cent.

In Leinster, 67 per cent expect no change in hiring activities, while in Ulster, 8 per cent of firms expect a rise in staffing levels.