JUST one in five businesses are planning to hire new staff, the lowest level for hiring intentions since the global financial crisis.
However, information technology is booming area as more firms digitise their businesses.
Recruitment firm Hudson's survey of more than 2500 employers in July and August found 20.9 per cent are planning to take on new staff during the December quarter.
Low staff turnover levels mean businesses have less opportunity to recruit, Hudson executive general manager for regional Australia Dean Davidson said.
"That can become a challenge for some organisations," he told AAP.
The proportion of employers planning to hire was the lowest level since the September quarter of 2009.
But 36 per cent of IT employers were planning to hire, compared with just 13.6 per cent for the utilities industry.
"A lot of organisations are transitioning down the digital path so that's creating project work," Mr Davidson said.
"I definitely do not see that changing in the foreseeable future."
South Australian employers had the strongest hiring intentions, with 24.2 per cent planning to recruit.
Hiring intentions in the ACT were down to 22.2 per cent, as the territory government tightens recruitment.
But Victoria had the weakest jobs market, with just 16.2 per cent of bosses planning to take on new staff.
In Queensland, 18.2 per cent of employers were planning to hire, the same proportion as those looking to downsize, following the end of the mining boom and public sector job cuts.
Hudson chief executive Mark Steyn said businesses had been cautious in the lead up to the federal election, but recruitment activity was likely to improve in the coming year amid low interest rates and a falling Australian dollar.
