Despite seeing positive growth in five of the nine industry sectors monitored by the Monster Employment Index (MEI), Malaysia experienced a decline in overall online hiring in 2019. Compared to 2018, last year’s e-recruitment activity declined slightly by 2% percent year-on-year.
That said, Malaysia’s Hospitality and IT industries witnessed double-digit year-on-year growth in 2019.
“Despite the 2 % annual decline in online recruitment, Malaysia is seeing remarkable growth in a number of sectors. The boost in the IT and Hospitality industries in particular is very encouraging. Both sectors saw double digit increases for 2019, reinforcing Malaysia’s commitment to becoming a digital economy that embraces Industry 4.0 and supplementing the Hospitality industry for Visit Malaysia Year 2020 (VMY2020),” said Krish Seshadri, CEO of Monster.com – APAC and Middle East.
The Monster Employment Index (MEI) is a gauge of online job posting activity compiled monthly by Monster.com. It records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in local recruitment activity. In the last quarter in particular, online hiring activity in IT, Telecom/ISP and BPO/ITES sector has seen a 24 percent year-on-year increase, leading annual growth among surveyed industry sectors in 2019. In the short-term, the sector fared well in three-month (up 5%) and six-month (up 17%) basis as well.
Meanwhile, the Hospitality industry continued to witness double-digit growth for the second consecutive month, on-the-year. Moreover, the sector fared well in other parameters as well; up 3% (month-on-month), up 11% (three-month) and up 15% (six-month).
The Advertising, Market Research, Public Relations, Media and Entertainment industry witnessed positive growth, with 9% year-on-year growth. The sector also ranked among top hiring industries for the third month in a row. However, monthly demand saw a decline of 2% in December 2019.
Oil and Gas saw positive growth after a decline of 4% in November 2019. The industry experienced a 3% year-on-year growth, with a 2% increase on a month-on-month basis, as well.
The Logistic, Courier/ Freight/ Transportation, Shipping/ Marine industry saw the steepest decline among all monitored sectors. The industry saw a drop of 9% year-on-year, with a 2% decrease on a three-month basis.
In terms of specific job roles, the annual growth for professionals was positive in three of the nine job roles monitored by the Index. This positive growth was led by Customer Service professionals, who were the most in-demand talent between December 2018 and 2019. Customer Service job roles were up 35% year-on-year, and on a short-term basis the job role was up 17%three-month basis and up 23% on a six-month basis.
IT-related job roles in Software, Hardware and Telecommunications also recorded strong growth in online demand, up 16% year-on-year, ranking among the top growth occupations in 2019. On a six-month basis, the job-role witnessed growth of 6%.
Year-on-year, Hospitality & Travel increased by 6%, with professionals experiencing increased online demand for the third consecutive month. The job-role charted growth in short-run as well; up four percent (month-on-month), up 41 percent (three-month) and up 17 percent (six-month).
Jobs in Engineering/Production, Real Estate saw an improved pace of annual growth between November (down 5%) and December (down 3%) 2019. Also, on a six-month basis, the job-role registered positive growth (up 3%) for the first time since August 2019.
Meanwhile, jobs in Purchase/Logistics/Supply Chain dipped by 8%, exhibiting the steepest annual decline among all the monitored occupation groups in December 2019.
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