Employers are being more cautious in their hiring due to ongoing economic uncertainty, according to a report by recruitment specialist Hudson.

News of job cuts in some industries during the first quarter, particularly the financial services and manufacturing sectors, has made recruiters more wary, the report says.

“Weaker than expected economic growth in the December quarter and news reports in January and February of planned job cuts among some banks, miners, retailers and car manufacturers may have weighed on employment sentiment,” it says. 

Net employer sentiment in financial services dropped 9.6% over the quarter.

Hudson says 11% of financial services employers plan to increase their permanent employees in the April-June quarter. This compares to 20.6% of financial services hiring managers that intended to increase permanent staff during the January-March quarter.

Information technology and resources remain the only industries to record year-on-year increases.