With job advertising up 9.6% from last quarter, and year-on-year job advert volumes also up 5.6% across the region, HR needs to ensure a proactive approach is made to attract the top candidates.
According to the Robert Walters Asia Job Index Q2 2013, job advertising for retail and sales professionals in Singapore is up 9.1% as a result of more growth in a resilient consumer market—remaining a key economic centre for Southeast Asia—attracting more start-up companies in technology, FMCG and automotive.
The findings also shed some light on Malaysia’s job market, highlighting an increase of 11.1% in job advertising from the previous quarter, particularly for positions within retail servicing, and sales up 9.2%. As Malaysia’s retail sector continues to develop, correlating with the growing number of shopping malls and the developing consumer sector, these figures are only set to increase.
Advertising figures in Hong Kong rose by 9.9% in comparison to Q1. The majority of positions were for current roles where businesses are looking to attract talent, rather than create new positions. Furthermore, the retail sector continues to benefit from Chinese tourism and advertised roles in merchandising and purchasing rose by 16.2% on the first quarter.
Additional findings across the region include; an 11.3% increase in job advertisements for positions in China, an 8.7% drop in levels across Japan and a 2.2% decrease in South Korea on the previous quarter, also down 15.8% year-on-year. With the overall figure going up, the job market is in hands of the job seeker and therefore HR needs to remain vigilant with its recruitment strategy, taking appropriate action to attract the right candidates for the job.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
