Compared to last year, Hong Kong has seen a 9% increase in job vacancies in Q2, according to figures released by Robert Walters in their Asia Job Index. This came slightly below the APAC average increase of 11%—but Matthew Bennett, Managing Director, Greater China, Robert Walters stated that this was largely due to the city’s diversified economy.
Commenting on the findings, Bennett added, “The slowdown in luxury retail and export trading led to a drop in hiring, particularly in sectors such as product and logistics operations as well as merchandising and purchasing. However the overall recruitment market outlook remained positive.
Indeed amongst the strongest performing sectors to produce job vacancies were Accounting and Finance, and Sales—which saw 21% increases on their previous figures last year. Robert Walters put this down to a desire to recruit new talent who have strong communication and stakeholder management skills as well as a more competitive environment within sales.
Meanwhile in China, merchandising and purchasing, and IT positions were highly sought after in Q2 as China continues to position itself as a global sourcing centre and the government pursues its ‘Internet Plus’ strategy. Both saw an increase of 28% and 24% respectfully. Though with the slowdown of the Chinese and European markets, exports in Hong Kong have been hit hard leading to a 9% drop in vacancies for product and logistics operations roles.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
