Hiring optimism in the insurance and finance sector is at its weakest since the end of 2009 but an upturn could be on the way, according to recruiter Manpower’s latest survey.

The sector’s net employment outlook for the fourth quarter is +7%, down from +9% in the June quarter.

Doug Spahn, GM with Experis, Manpower’s professional staffing division, says the sector has been “in the doldrums for some time”.

“In the past 24 months it has been hit severely, with the big banks culling a lot of staff,” he told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “There’s now a general feeling that it’s probably bottomed out and that there will be a slow improvement next year.”

Jobs in tax, auditing, compliance and sales are in relatively high demand, he says.

Overall, Australia’s jobs market is “downcast”, but insurance and finance is one of the stronger labour sectors, the report says. By comparison, mining and construction employers report an outlook of -6%.

Confidence could improve now the election is over, Mr Spahn says.

“A lot of clients have said they are really waiting to see what sort of government is in, whether it will tighten the belt, what policies there are and what the mandate is for the future growth of the economy. So there’s been a lot of hold-back, a lot of wait-and-see approach.”

Australian employers report weaker hiring intentions in six of seven industry sectors.

“Much of this uncertainty stems from the sharp, ongoing decline of the… mining industry, as well as associated industries such as construction and transportation,” the report says.

The survey measures the hiring intentions of more than 1500 employers in Australia. For the coming quarter, 17% plan to increase their hiring, 14% plan to decrease and 69% will make no change.

“The resulting net employment outlook of +3% reflects the downcast employer sentiment in Australia,” the report says.