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Hiring Outlook In SEA IT Sector Appears Hopeful Despite Staggered Growth

Overall online hiring within the Southeast Asian IT, Telecom/ ISP and BPO/ITES sectors continue to witness moderate growth in April, in spite of the falling demand for Software, Hardware and Telecom professionals.

This is reflected in the latest round of Monster Employment Index (MEI) data, a monthly gauge of online job hiring activity by Monster.com. The Index records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity, including data from the IT sectors.

The Philippines reported 11% year-over-year increase in hiring activities in IT, Telecom/ISP and BPO/ITES sector, the steepest growth recorded among the three markets monitored by the Index. This is the market’s first positive growth recorded since January 2016. Month-on-month hiring activities have also been seeing slow but steady growth.

Malaysia exhibited -11% year-over-year drop in hiring activities. Despite the dip, the market’s pace of decline has eased up since the start of the year. Like the Philippines, its month-on-month hiring activities have seen slight growth.

Singapore’s annual growth in hiring activities has been fluctuating, seeing a marginal 1% growth between April 2015 and 2016. This is an 8% dip from 9% year-over-year growth recorded in March.

IT, Telecom/ ISP and BPO/ ITES industry:

 

Month Market 2015 2016 % Growth Y-o-Y
February Singapore 108 104 -4%
Malaysia 97 49 -49%
Philippines 101 96 -5%
         
March Singapore 105 114 9%
Malaysia 87 76 -13%
Philippines 97 95 -2%
         
April Singapore 109 110 1%
Malaysia 88 78 -11%
Philippines 87 97 11%

When looking at Software, Hardware and Telecom roles, none of the markets witnessed positive growth in hiring demand between April 2015 and 2016. The group saw the steepest drop in demand in Malaysia, which reported a -39% annual decline.

Singapore recorded -4% year-over-year decline in job demands, the least among the three markets. The role is also amongst the occupations recording the least decline in the market. Philippines followed closely behind at -5% year-over-year growth, a 23% leap from -28% year-over-year reported in March.

Software, Hardware, Telecom jobs:

Month Market 2015 2016 % Growth Y-o-Y
February Singapore 104 84 -19%
Malaysia 101 27 -73%
Philippines 105 73 -30%
         
March Singapore 98 97 -1%
Malaysia 85 52 -39%
Philippines 104 75 -28%
         
April Singapore 103 99 -4%
Malaysia 88 55 -38%
Philippines 80 76 -5%

“Of late, Singapore’s tech startup companies have been in the venture capitalist limelight, which has likely helped to maintain job demands within the IT sector. There has also been increasing emphasis on Singaporean talent to keep up with tech developments in order to remain relevant in their roles. This shift in focus can help companies save on manpower hours and costs that would otherwise have been incurred from employee layoffs,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com (India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong).

“Malaysia is well on its way to become an IT hub, but its challenge lies in locating talent qualified enough for many specialist roles. The Philippines’ attractive labour market has been a key catalyst to growing hiring numbers across most sectors, including IT-related sectors. In the coming months, demands for BPO-IT professionals and web developers are likely to continue to soar.”

The MEI is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity, based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings. The Index does not reflect the trend of any one advertiser or source, but is an aggregate measure of the change in job listings across the industry.

See below for all trends across Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines for April 2016:

Singapore Highlights:

  • Singapore experienced -3% dip in online recruitment activities between April 2015 and 2016, down 6% from 3% year-over-year recorded in March 2016
  • The Hospitality sector reported the steepest growth at 8% year-over-year. The Production/ Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary sector saw the greatest drop at -5% year-over-year
  • Hospitality & Travel roles saw the greatest growth in demand at 5% year-over-year, whereas Finance and Accounts roles registered the steepest drop at -12% year-over-year
Top Growth Industries

 

  Lowest Growth Industries

 

Year-over-year Growth  Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-o-Y

  Year-over-year Growth  Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-o-Y

Hospitality 106 114 8%   Shipping/Marine 95 94 -1%
Education 97 103 6%   BFSI 118 115 -3%
Engineering, Construction and Real Estate 93 97 4%   Oil and Gas 94 91 -3%
Government/ PSU/ Defence 81 84 4%   Import/Export 84 81 -4%
Consumer Goods/ FMCG, Food & Packaged Food , Home Appliance, Garments/ Textiles/ Leather, Gems & Jewellery 88 91 3%   Production/Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary 93 88 -5%

 

Top Growth Occupations

 

  Lowest Growth Occupations

 

Year-over-year Growth  Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-o-Y

  Year-over-year Growth  Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-o-Y

Hospitality & Travel 99 104 5%   Sales & Business Development 102 97 -5%
Customer Service 107 109 2%   Engineering /Production 94 88 -6%
Legal 100 101 1%   Real Estate 107 99 -7%
Purchase/ Logistics/ Supply Chain 97 94 -3%   HR & Admin 99 90 -9%
Software, Hardware, Telecom 103 99 -4%   Finance & Accounts 104 92 -12%

Malaysia Highlights:

  • Malaysia saw -18% year-over-year dip in online hiring in April 2016, falling 7% from -11% reported between March 2015 and 2016
  • Between April 2015 and 2016, none of the job sectors and occupational groups registered positive annual growth
  • The Advertising, Market Research, Public Relations, Media & Entertainment sectorreported the least annual decline at -4%, while the Logistic, Courier/ Freight/ Transportation, Shipping/ Marine sector continued to report the sharpest year-over-year plunge at -35%
  • Annual demand for Marketing & Communications professionals reported the least decline at -1%, whereas the Software, Hardware, Telecom roles experienced the steepest drop in demand at -38% year-over-year

 

Top Growth Industries

 

  Lowest Growth Industries

 

Year-over-year Growth Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-o-Y

  Year-over-year Growth Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-o-Y

Advertising, Market Research, Public Relations, Media and Entertainment 83 80 -4%   Hospitality 91 74 -19%
Production/Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary 95 88 -7%   BFSI 121 94 -22%
IT, Telecom/ISP and BPO/ITES 88 78 -11%   Engineering, Construction and Real Estate 106 79 -25%
Retail 105 92 -12%   Logistic, Courier/ Freight/ Transportation, Shipping/ Marine 114 74 -35%

 

Top Growth Occupations

 

  Lowest Growth Occupations

 

Year-over-year Growth Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-o-Y

  Year-over-year Growth Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-o-Y

Marketing & Communications 93 92 -1%   Finance & Accounts 109 87 -20%
Customer Service 84 77 -8%   Hospitality & Travel 87 69 -21%
Sales & Business Development 95 79 -17%   Purchase/ Logistics/ Supply Chain 95 71 -25%
Engineering /Production, Real Estate 93 76 -18%   Software, Hardware, Telecom 88 55 -38%

Philippines Highlights:

  • Philippines saw -3% annual decline in online recruitment activities between April 2015 and 2016
  • The Retail sector experienced the steepest annual growth of 49% among industry groups
  • The Production/Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary sector once againsaw the most notable decline at -56% year-over-year
  • The online hiring of Customer Service professionals saw the steepest growth at 33% year-over-year, while Hospitality & Travel professionals remain the weakest in demand at -63% year-over-year
Top Growth Industries

 

  Lowest Growth Industries

 

Year-over-year Growth Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-O-Y

  Year-over-year Growth Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-O-Y

Retail 69 103 49%   Health Care 64 62 -3%
Advertising, Market Research, Public Relations, Media and Entertainment 54 71 31%   Consumer Goods/ FMCG, Food & Packaged Food , Home Appliance, Garments/ Textiles/ Leather, Gems & Jewellery 82 69 -16%
BFSI 90 107 19%   Logistic, Courier/ Freight/ Transportation, Import/Export, Shipping 63 53 -16%
Education 86 98 14%   Engineering, Construction and Real Estate 62 41 -34%
BPO/ITES 89 101 13%   Production/Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary 50 22 -56%

 

Top Growth Occupations

 

  Lowest Growth Occupations

 

Year-over-year Growth Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-O-Y

  Year-over-year Growth Apr

15

Apr

16

% Growth

Y-O-Y

Customer Service 86 114 33%   Software, Hardware, Telecom 80 76 -5%
Sales & Business Development 84 106 26%   Purchase/ Logistics/ Supply Chain 75 66 -12%
HR & Admin 73 77 5%   Engineering /Production, Real Estate 58 45 -22%
Finance & Accounts 92 95 3%   Marketing & Communications 90 53 -41%
Health Care 68 66 -3%   Hospitality & Travel 63 23 -63%

 

– Ends –

About the Monster Employment Index

The Monster Employment Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly analysis of online job posting activity in Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia conducted by Monster India. Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of online career outlets, including Monster Singapore, Monster Philippines and Monster Malaysia, the Monster Employment Index presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide. Monster has taken due care in compiling and processing the data available from various sources for Monster Employment Index, but does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or action / decision taken or for the results obtained from the use of such information. In the South East Asia region, Monster Employment Index was first launched in Singapore in May 2014 with data collected since January 2011 followed by Philippines and Malaysia in May 2015 with data collected since February 2014.

About Monster Worldwide

Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: MWW), parent company of Monster, the premier global online employment solution for more than a decade, strives to inspire people to improve their lives. With a local presence in key markets in North America, Europe, and Asia, Monster works for everyone by connecting employers with quality job seekers at all levels and by providing personalized career advice to consumers globally. Through online media sites and services, Monster delivers vast, highly targeted audiences to advertisers. Monster Worldwide is a member of the S&P 500 index. To learn more about Monster’s industry-leading products and services, visit www.monster.com. More information about Monster Worldwide is available at http://about-monster.com/




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