Overall Demand for IT Roles In SEA Suffers In February

Amidst the slow recovery in online demand for IT professionals earlier this year, hiring sees a slump once again across Singapore, Philippines and Malaysia.

This is according to the latest round of Monster Employment Index (MEI) data. The MEI, a monthly gauge of online job hiring activity, records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity.

Singapore reported the least decline in hiring activities amongst the three markets, registering -4% year-over-year dip. This is a 6% drop from 2% year-on-year growth recorded in January.

Online hiring activities in the IT sector in Philippines also reported a 6% dip from its annual hiring in January (reporting -1% drop year-over-year), at -5% year-over-year. Despite the dip, the sector remains amongst the top growth industry groups in the market.

In Malaysia, the sector reported -49% year-over-year slump in online hiring, down from -25% decline registered in January. Month-on-month hiring has also fallen by 17% in February, making it the second lowest growth industry in Malaysia.

IT, Telecom/ ISP and BPO/ ITES industry:

Software, Hardware, Telecom jobs:

Online hiring of the Hardware, Software and Telecom professionals also exhibited falling demand, as Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines continue to report declining hiring activities. The group is also amongst the lowest growth occupation groups in Singapore and Malaysia.

Singapore once again reported the least decline across the three markets, at -19% year-over-year. This is a 7% drop from -12% decline year-over-year reported in January 2016.

Malaysia fared the worst amongst the three markets, reporting a whopping -73% decline in online demand for Hardware, Software and Telecom professionals. The group also saw the steepest decline in online demand between February 2015 and 2016 among the occupation groups surveyed by the MEI.

Philippines exhibited -30% year-over-year dip in online hiring between February 2015 and 2016, a marginal 1% dip from -29% decline recorded in January 2016. Despite the decline, the group is among the top growth occupations in the market.

“As the global economy struggles to recover, hiring activities across Southeast Asia experienced an overall slump and the IT sector has not been spared either. Some employers have as a result, been prompted to be cautious with their hiring and to manage resources wisely during this period of time,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com (India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong).

“Major tech players have based their Asian operations in Singapore, and have gone on hiring sprees since. However, hiring has been stunted partly due to the lack of qualified candidates in Singapore’s limited talent pool. Malaysia has been an attractive state for foreign investments and IT hiring activities are likely to pick up once businesses proceed with investment projects. To further enhance the productivity and quality of work in the Philippines’ IT sector, some employers have chosen to focus on addressing skill gaps within the sector, over aggressively hiring to meet market demands.”

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 February 2016:

Singapore Highlights:

• Singapore recorded -7% year-over-year decline in online hiring in February, a dip from -2% recorded between January 2015 and 2016
• The Production/Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary sector reported the sharpest growth at 9% year-over-year. The Hospitality sector saw the greatest decline at -10%
• Customer Service roles saw the greatest growth in demand at 2% year-over-year. The Software, Hardware, Telecom roles registered the steepest drop at -19% year-over-year

Malaysia Highlights:

• Malaysia witnessed a -39% year-over-year decline in online hiring in February, a dip from -28% recorded between January 2015 and 2016
• None of the industry sectors and occupational groups registered positive annual growth
• The Production/ Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary sector reported the least decline at -10% year-over-year, while the Logistic, Courier/ Freight/ Transportation, Shipping/ Marine sector continued to record the steepest year-over-year decline at -56%
• Marketing & Communications professionals once again saw the least decline, registering a –10% year-over-over dip, while the Software, Hardware, Telecom roles had the least demand at -73% year-over-year

Philippines Highlights:

• Philippines registered a -40% annual decline in online recruitment activities in February 2016, down from -33% registered between January 2015 and 2016
• The BFSI sector saw the steepest annual growth at 1%, while the Production/Manufacturing, Automotive and Ancillary sector saw the greatest decline at -67%
• Online demand for Customer Service professionals reported the steepest growth at 9% year-over-year, while Hospitality & Travel professionals experienced the weakest demand at -76%

– 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.

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