Online hiring activity wanes in April, May: Index

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s overall online hiring activity decreased during the start of the second quarter of 2018 with year-on-year (y-o-y) declines of 6% and 12% in April and May, respectively, according to the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI).
Only two of the nine industries monitored by MEI saw positive annual growth in both months.
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 & gas sector has continually registered double-digit growth since April 2017, up 11% and 14% y-o-y in April and May, respectively. However, in the short term, the sector witnessed recessive growth, down 2% month-on-month and 4% on a three-month basis.
The retail industry continued to fare the worst among all job sectors in the last three months, down 41% y-o-y in May, followed by the banking, financial services and insurance sector at -30%.
The weak sentiment in April and May was also reflected in the job-roles monitored – only one out of the nine occupations monitored by the MEI saw positive annual growth.
The demand for hospitality & travel roles surged 31% y-o-y in May, recovering from a two-month decline.
Customer service roles remained the worst performing occupational group with a decline of 37% y-o-y in May. Purchase/ logistics/supply chain professionals saw an 11% y-o-y decline in May, the steepest annual fall since October 2016.
Commenting on the slowdown in online hiring activity in Malaysia, Monster.com CEO of Asia Pacific and Middle East Abhijeet Mukherjee said it was due to political and economic uncertainty in the run-up to the 2018 general election, which prompted investors and businesses to be more cautious.