China's fourth-quarter job outlook weaker-Manpower

BEIJING, Sept 9 (Reuters) - China's employment outlook is dimming for the rest of 2008, but post-quake reconstruction will increase jobs in the west of the country, Manpower Inc (MAN.N) said in a survey released on Tuesday.

A poll of 4,014 employers in nine major cities showed China's net employment outlook -- the difference between firms adding jobs and those cutting them -- was a positive 12 percent for the fourth quarter, the employment services provider said.

But the reading, which is seasonally adjusted, was down 3 percentage points from the third quarter and 1 percentage point from a year earlier.

Lucille Wu, managing director of Manpower Greater China, said job seekers in the services sector were most likely to feel the pinch as companies cut temporary workers after the Olympic Games, although the overall impact would be limited.

The survey's reading for the services sector was unchanged from the third quarter but was down 2 percentage points from a year earlier.

Wu said a slew of government measures, including more bank loans and tax breaks, to help the local economy recover from May's devastating earthquake in Sichuan would encourage hiring in western cities such as Chengdu and Xi'an.

Optimism among employers in Chengdu was at a record high, the survey showed.

Elsewhere, hiring prospects weakened across the Asia-Pacific, according to Manpower, while the U.S. jobs outlook fell to its lowest level since 2003 as growth slowed due to the still unfolding financial crisis. Please click on [ID:nN08468275] for a related story. (Reporting by Langi Chiang; Editing by Alan Wheatley and Ken Wills)