Insurance and finance companies have bucked the national trend and stepped up demand for new staff, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for the third quarter.

For the eighth consecutive quarter, insurance and finance employers lead the way on hiring intentions.

Across all sectors combined, hiring intentions for the next quarter have decreased.

But insurance and finance employers have reported an increase of one percentage point to a net employment outlook of 19%.

The overall third-quarter outlook of 6% is down two percentage points on the preceding quarter and four percentage points on the corresponding quarter last year.

ManpowerGroup MD Lincoln Crawley says the slowing economy is driving uncertainty.

“Australian employers are battening down the hatches,” he said.

However, growth in insurance, banking and infrastructure has driven employment demand in the sector.

“The finance and insurance sector is buoyant. An industry focus on addressing Australia’s underinsurance gap will mean strong hiring activity for some time to come.”

Manpower’s survey records the hiring intentions of 1500 Australian employers.