The number of job advertisements in Hong Kong in the Q2 grew 13% over a year ago, indicating a stronger than expected demand for top talent despite market concerns, according to Asia Job Index Q2 2016 by Robert Walters.
The Asia Job Index tracks job advertising volumes for professional positions across the leading job boards and national newspapers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore.
Matthew Bennett, Managing Director Greater China, Robert Walters noted, “The double-digit increase in job advertising was more positive than expected, given the slowdown in Hong Kong’s GDP growth and recent news of job cuts in some sectors. It is important to note that as market sentiment has remained cautious for some time, companies have become accustomed to recruiting in a slower market and are still making hiring decisions for business-critical functions. We also continue to see new opportunities in burgeoning areas such as Fintech, cyber security and cloud computing. Moving into the second half of the year, any sustained market caution and uncertainty in the short term will lead to prolonged recruitment processes.”
Key findings, Asia Job Index Q2, 2016:
- HR professionals remained in demand as organisations invested more in internal HR programmes to retain talent, such as learning and development. This resulted in a 25% year-on-year increase in the number of job advertisements.
- The entrance of tech start-ups and the drive from organisations to strengthen their technology infrastructure to navigate the evolving digital landscape continued to drive the demand for IT professionals, with job advertisements up 21% from Quarter 2, 2015.
- Recruitment for administrative and secretarial roles dropped 5% annually as companies became more cost-conscious and cut down on hiring for support functions.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
