Hudson’s latest Employment Expectations report, which surveyed 4338 employers last month, found employment expectations in all sectors were up. Not surprisingly, mining and oil and gas producers were leading the way.

The report found strong employment growth across the resource sector, up 1.5% year-on-year to 57.7% in the March 2011 quarter.

Resource sector employers expecting to increase their permanent headcount over the next three months has dipped 0.6% to 62.4% compared to the last quarter.

Some 32.9% of managers expecting headcounts to remain the same this quarter.

According to the report, a net 57.5% of hiring managers plan to increase permanent headcount over the next three months. This represents a 32% increase on the national net average.

Hudson technical and engineering national practice leader Neville Andrews said that as the year progressed he expected to see the resource-based labour market tighten across key disciplines and for certain specialist roles.

“This indicates a lack of necessary investment in developing talent for the resource industry,” Andrews said.

“Now more than ever in a turbulent economic climate the cost of a bad hire is crippling.

“It is essential that employers have a robust process in place to rigorously assess and secure the best people for their business.”

Western Australia and Queensland have reported the strongest growth with 69.9% of managers in WA and 65.9% in Queensland planning on increasing permanent headcounts over the coming quarter.