KUALA LUMPUR: GOOD news for job seekers — the employment market is expanding with an 11 per cent growth in recruitment compared with the same period last year, according to a recent survey.
Companies said they were going to hire more and this was especially true for the sales, accounting, finance and marketing industries. The survey by JobStreet.com revealed that more than 40 per cent of employers increased hiring in the fourth quarter this year, compared with 30 per cent during the same period last year.
However, 27 per cent of employers said they were hiring for replacements, while 24 per cent said they wanted to maintain their present hiring rate.
Only seven per cent of employers said they would hire less manpower.
There was a big jump in the accounting/finance industry, with a nine per cent spike in manpower demand for this specialisation in the fourth quarter this year, compared with the same period last year.
This increase in demand was in line with the Economic Transformation Programme as mentioned by Bank Negara Malaysia, which said: “It is anticipated that the Malaysian financial sector requires about 200,000 workers throughout the years until 2020.”
This is followed by a five per cent increase in demand for sales jobs during the same period.
This also corresponds with the increase in job postings in the accounting/finance sector in JobStreet.com.
Approximately 27,000 job postings are available in the sector, which makes up 13 per cent of all available jobs.
JobStreet.com, which is an online recruitment company covering the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam, said although there was an increase in overall job vacancies, finding the right candidates to fill those positions remained a challenge for employers.
Some of the recruitment issues raised by employers include candidates not having the skills required for the job, demand for unreasonable salary and no-shows after accepting interview invitations.
With hiring the right talent an issue, employers are also focusing on the retention of good staff, not wanting to lose them to competitors.
When polled on how they retain staff, 62 per cent of employers preferred to increase employees’ salary and benefits.
Other retention methods included providing training and career progression opportunities, ensuring better work arrangements and offering more promotions.