The demand for hiring staff for the third quarter of 2007 is expected to drop after three quarters of steady growth, according to an employment survey.

However, the demand for skilled people remains high, with the legal and finance/banking sectors saying that they will recruit more staff than the second quarter.

In a recent survey by international human resources agency Hudson, which interviewed 716 business executives based in Hong Kong, 49 percent said they would increase their manpower in the third quarter of 2007, as compared with 62 percent year-on- year.

The shortage of skilled people remains a cause for concern, with 38 percent of the respondents saying that was their main recruitment challenge.

In terms of professions, 68 percent from the legal sector said they would recruit more staff, followed by the finance/banking sector at 57 percent.

As to the ways to retain the better staff, salary increase, training and performance-based bonus are the main measures.

Besides, Hong Kong is also the only surveyed place in Asia which has seen a better balance between work and family life over the past two years.

"Employment is going through a consolidation period after three quarters of steady growth," said Gina McLellan, Hudson's manager for Hong Kong.

"The shortage of skilled people is the greatest challenge. Employers, therefore, offer both higher salaries and better balance between the work and family life of the staff.

"Flexible working hours and education allowances are the most widely offered work-life benefits by 56 percent of the employers in Hong Kong," she added.

Explaining the reason for increasing need for lawyers, McLellan said lawyers with merger and acquisition are very popular because of growing business opportunity in China.

In some cases, employers even offered 100 percent salary increases to get or retain the right people, she said.

(HK Edition 07/20/2007 page6)