Online hiring in Malaysia declines further in May

KUALA LUMPUR: Overall online hiring in Malaysia fell further in May, reporting a 14% year-on-year decline, according to the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI).
The MEI is a gauge of online job posting activities compiled monthly by Monster.com. It records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity locally.
The oil and gas sector emerged the best-performing sector for the first time ever in May 2017, at 16% year-on-year growth in online hiring.
Similar to last month, the retail sector continued to fare the worst among all job sectors with a 35% drop year-on-year in May.
When looking at specific occupational groups, sales & business development roles remained the most in-demand in Malaysia, exhibiting 9% year-on-year growth in online hiring for the second consecutive month.
Customer service roles on the other hand, remained the worst-performing occupational group, reporting a 64% year-on-year sharp decline, down from the 58% year-on-year decline reported in April.
Monster.com managing director for APAC and Middle East Sanjay Modi said despite the bleak overall e-recruitment numbers, analysts are upbeat about Malaysia’s economic growth, which has exhibited a fairly healthy growth trend, especially in select sectors such as oil and gas.
“This sector has done particularly well this month as businesses look to outsource operations here to reduce outgoing expenses. Other ongoing factors such as the recent inflation has led to a hike in cost of living and a dip in consumer spending, resulting in a decline in hiring in the retail sectors and its corresponding roles,” he said in a statement.
The MEI Malaysia is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity, based on real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities, culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings across Malaysia. 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.