KUALA LUMPUR: Domestic job employment market has started to recover with the movement control restrictions being progressively lifted, showing a positive outlook in hiring trends.
According to the latest study by JobStreet Malaysia entitled JobStreet's Covid-19 Job Report released recently, 74 per cent of employers expect to make new hires in the next six months.
Jobstreet country manager Gan Bock Herm said research outcome of the positive trend appears to be aligned with finance minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz's optimism that Malaysia is on track for recovery in 2021, based on the unemployment rate recovering to 4.9 per cent in June, from a record high of 5.3 per cent in May.
"Covid-19 and the Movement Control Order (MCO) restrictions have changed the way companies operate.
"As part of the new normal, companies are adopting various digital and online measures resulting in high demand for skills related to digital and information technology (IT)," said Gan in a statement.
JobStreet has also observed a growing trend of employers seeking out expertise for emerging IT roles such as data analysts, artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists together with experienced digital transformation professionals.
"Hence it comes as no surprise that the top three industries looking for talent is led by IT, followed by manufacturing and banking/financial services," he said.
Despite the optimistic findings, the report also highlighted a sharp drop in employees' quality of life since MCO was introduced.
44 per cent of respondents reported themselves as being unhappy with their quality of life, four times the 11 per cent who said the same prior to MCO.
The industries most directly affected included hospitality and catering, tourism and travel, media, publishing and beauty care.
"Since March, 1 in 3 employees have had their livelihoods disrupted, with 18 per cent permanently retrenched due to Covid-19 and 11 per cent temporarily not working, although still technically employed," Gan said.
Besides that, 48 per cent reported a negative impact on their remuneration, with 35 per cent of those who had their salaries cut having experienced a reduction of more than 30 per cent.
Employees have also experienced significant changes to their work-life balance, with 58 per cent being required to work from home, while 39 per cent of respondents experienced an increase in their workload.
"JobStreet's mission is to improve people's lives through better careers.
"Toward this end, we want to be able to provide the necessary as well as relevant information, insights and tools to enable businesses and individuals to succeed and thrive," said Gan.
He explained that, by knowing the trends in the industry and employment landscape better, employers, as well as job-seekers, can make better and more informed decisions about their organisations and their careers.
During the MCO period, JobStreet had introduced several initiatives under its #TogetherAhead campaign including the #WorkNow initiative, which, according to Gan, has helped connect 20,000 Malaysian job-seekers with potential employers.
"It has helped displaced job-seekers to let potential employers know that they are ready to work immediately and enabled companies to identify and access job-seekers that are available for urgent hiring," he said.