SINGAPORE, Aug. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Robert Walters, an award-winning business and one of the world's leading specialist professional recruitment consultancies, has launched its Asia Job Index for Q2 2012.
The Robert Walters Asia Job Index tracks advertisement volumes for professional positions across the leading job boards and national newspapers in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, mainland China, South Korea and Japan.
Asia Job Index Q2 2012 findings:
- Levels of job advertisements continued to increase across the region, increasing 11.8% from Q1 to Q2.
- There was year-on-year regional growth of 7.5% in the number of job advertisements.
- In Singapore, the number of roles advertised within operations and logistics increased by 21.3%. This is likely due to more major international corporations deciding to build hubs in the city-state.
- Advertisement levels for accountancy and finance professionals were up in Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Korea, which reflected the ongoing demand for higher standards of regulatory reporting in the region.
- Job advertisements in Japan leapt by 43%, reflecting the demand to fill roles left vacant by internationals who have moved away following the tsunami.
- The retail and property management sectors remained buoyant, particularly in China, as consumer purchasing power grows across the region. Professionals with experience in these areas were highly sought after.
- There was an increase of 25.4% for editors and reporters, particularly for roles within social media in China.
Singapore: Demand for procurement, retail and compliance professionals
- Singapore's advertising activity increased by 16% on the previous quarter.
- Operations and logistic roles were up 21% which was a reflection of more companies deciding to hub their procurement in Singapore rather than China. The pharmaceutical and automotive industries have been generating the greatest demand for professionals with operations and logistics experience.
- Retail grew by 17.5% as the luxury goods market continued to be buoyant and was supported by healthy levels of tourism.
- The number of job advertisements for legal and compliance roles increased to support demand for greater regulation within financial services.
- While the number of advertised roles for human resources remained flat, the demand in Singapore continued to be strong as employers preferred going directly to recruiters instead of posting job advertisements.
Hong Kong: Rise in merchandising, purchasing and operations roles
- Recruitment advertising in Hong Kongwas up 11.5%. However, the most of the advertisements came from companies seeking to 'up-skill' and bring in people with better qualifications to drive business performance.
- The 12% rise in advertisements in the advertising and marketing sector was an indication of a slightly more positive market sentiment.
- Advertising for merchandising and purchasing roles was up 18.1% along with operations, which increased by 14.3%, reflecting the fact that Hong Kong continues to be one of the leading Asian hubs for trade.
- There was a 13.2% increase in job ads for engineers and architects due to large government infrastructure projects, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
- The increase of accountancy and finance job advertisements reflected the ongoing demand for higher standards of regulatory reporting both in commerce and banking.
Malaysia: Demand for IT, advertising and marketing professionals
- The number of jobs advertised in Q2 rose by 16.3%. This was in line with a quieter Q1 which was affected by the Chinese New Year.
- However, professionals were keen to change jobs after the New Year and this was especially apparent in the IT industry, which saw a 24.2% rise in advertisements.
- There was increasing demand for high quality professionals in operations and logistics, due to tightening supply chains with many companies moving these operations in-house to control costs.
- Job advertisements for professionals in the retail sector rose by 17.5%, driven by the need for revenue-generating staff to boost sales.
- This was accompanied by a jump in demand for roles in advertising and marketing where job advertisements rose by 32.6%, indicating a possible return of market confidence.
- Advertisements for HR roles fell by 3.4% in Q2, due to companies choosing to go directly to recruiters to fill these positions rather than advertising for them.
China: Growth in media, retail and property sectors
- Chinese recruitment advertising rose by 12% in Q2 after a quieter Q1 which was affected by the Chinese New Year.
- While confidence in the market remained subdued, the retail sector saw exceptional growth and job advertising for this sector saw an increase of 27.8% in Q1. The retail sector was booming with stronger consumer purchasing power and a growing appetite for international brands. The growth was also largely due to the Chinese government looking to develop a consumer society to offset the drop in exports to the West, and its investments in retail infrastructure such as shopping malls and hypermarkets.
- Demand for editors/writers was up 25.4% which reflected the growth of the media sector, particularly within the social media space and the need for online content writers.
- Advertising for property management roles increased by 14.8%, reflecting demand from Hong Kong and Singapore property firms that are responsible for developing the increasing number of high-end city apartments in these cities.
- Advertising for accountancy roles rose by 13.6% in line with growth of the commerce sector.
Japan: Rise in retail, engineering and creative jobs
- Levels of job advertising in Japansaw a significant jump from Q2 in 2011, which was not unexpected, given the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
- However, the relatively flat level of job advertising compared to Q1 (up 0.4%) shows that the market was steady, but not booming.
- Retail/sales advertising jobs were up 6.4%, driven both by Japanese firms looking to grow internationally, and foreign companies expanding their presence locally.
- Job advertisement levels in the medical sector fell by 11.4% compared to Q1. New regulations meant the industry focused on more highly qualified and specialised professionals. This led to reduced volumes and lower levels of advertising, even though demand for such roles remained high.
- Engineering saw a 7.8% increase in advertisements, as many firms hired on a temporary basis to accelerate the completion of projects, especially alternative sources of power following the shutting down of Japan's nuclear power stations.
- IT job advertising levels were 8% higher in Q2, with domestic and international systems integrators actively hiring application engineers for financial technology and cloud computing. The growth of the smartphones market also created the demand for specialist network technicians.
- In the art/design/creative areas, job advertisements have increased by 5.1%, driven by demand for designers to help firms improve their marketing and communications through social media and web marketing.
South Korea: Demand for engineering professionals
- South Korea saw a 17.7% increase in the number of jobs advertised in Q2.
- The two main factors were firstly, attrition based hiring with professionals showing a greater inclination to move jobs than previously; and secondly, international companies increasing headcount as they expanded into the region.
- International companies looked to expand particularly in industrial supply businesses such as automotive and electronics, and also in technology.
- Engineering and infrastructure roles saw a significant jump in advertising, up by 30% compared to the previous quarter. Korea is still largely a manufacturing-based economy, and requires considerable investment in innovation and R&D. This tends to involve the recruitment of more professionals to enable quicker project completion ahead of competitors.
- Advertising for accounting and finance roles increased by 21.5%. This was mainly driven by commerce and industry, with in-house finance departments needing more resources and more detailed types of financial analysis and reporting as companies expanded.
- There was some evidence of hiring in financial services, but this was generally confined to senior roles requiring very specific skill sets. The financial services industry was quiet, with advertisements for accounting and finance roles up only 4.9%, but there was some selective hiring for more senior personnel who could offer a broader range of skill sets.
- Free trade agreements with the US and Europe have created a greater flow of goods into and out of the country, leading to increased pressure on companies to manage their supply chains. This was demonstrated by a 20.8% rise in advertisements for roles in operations and logistics.
For more comprehensive details and figures for each specific country, refer to the Asia Job Index attached or download the full report from www.asiajobindex.com
Methodology
The Robert Walters Asia Job Index tracks the number of job advertisements on a daily basis across the executive appointments sections of key newspapers and leading online job boards in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. In mainland China, job opportunities are largely advertised online via job portals and as such, the index will only track online job advertisements for this market. For a complete listing of the publications and job boards included in our findings, visit: http://asiajobindex.com/methodology.html
About Robert Walters
Robert Walters is an award-winning business and one of the leading international recruitment consultancies. The Group has a network of 51 offices spanning 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Continental Europe, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, South Africa and South America. For more information about Robert Walters Singapore, please visit www.robertwalters.com.sg.
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Robert Walters Singapore
Tel: +65-6228-0200
Fax: +65-6228-0201
Email: singapore@robertwalters.com
For further information or interview requests, please contact:
Joyce Lin
Editorial & PR Specialist, Asia
Robert Walters
Email: joyce.lin@robertwalters.com.sg
Tel: +65-6228-5313
Mobile: +65-9770-1133
Gigi Koh
Editorial & PR Specialist, China
Email: gigi.koh@robertwalters.com.cn
Tel: +86-(21)-5153-5810
Mobile: +86-187-2104-0323
Ambrose Lau
Editorial & PR Specialist, Japan
Email: ambrose.lau@robertwalters.co.jp
Tel: +81-(0)-34570-1500
Elisa Yiu
Marketing Manager, Hong Kong
Email: elisa.yiu@robertwalters.com.hk
Tel: +852-2161-9402
