Philippines was the only market to register positive annual growth in the online hiring of HR & Admin professionals in April, across the three markets monitored by the Monster Employment Index (MEI).

The MEI records industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in online recruitment activity in Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines every month. It also includes data from the HR & Administrative occupational groups.

Philippines registered 5% year-over-year growth in online demand for HR and Admin professionals, up 33% from -28% year-over-year recorded in March. This is the steepest growth recorded across the markets monitored by the MEI. This is also the group’s first positive annual growth recorded this year, placing the group amongst the top growth jobs in the market.

Malaysia exhibited the steepest decline in April at -19% year-over-year. This is a further 9% drop from -10% decline recorded between March 2015 and 2016.

Singapore reported -9% year-over-year decline in the online recruitment of HR & Admin professionals in April, a 7% drop from -2% year-over-year registered in March.

HR & Admin Jobs:

“The Philippines’ economic outlook has been improving, hence attracting external business and investment. With more job opportunities created as a result, these HR and Admin professionals play a vital role in helping organisations onboard and facilitate job movements,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director of Monster.com (India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Hong Kong).

“Unlike the Philippines, employers in Singapore and Malaysia are not in a hurry to hire and are, in fact, trimming their workforce, in part due to falling revenue. Demand is likely to experience a spike once the booming sectors, such as IT, start to pick up, driving hiring activities.”

Below are 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.

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 sector reported 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

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 again saw 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.

The Monster Employment Index 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 across Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

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.

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