The online hiring activities in the BFSI sector across Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines witnessed slight improvement in annual hiring numbers, acccording to the latest round of Monster Employment Index (MEI).
The MEI measures online job hiring activity monthly, recording the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity in the three markets.
In March, Malaysia was the only market that recorded an annual decline in hiring activities, at -8% year-over-year, in the BFSI space. This is a 30% improvement when comparing to the annual hiring figures recorded between February 2015 and 2016 (-38% year-over-year).
Singapore saw a 7% year-over-year growth in online recruitment in the BFSI space, an 11% improvement in hiring activities when compared to the annual hiring numbers recorded between February 2015 and 2016. Month-on-month hiring activities between February and March also witnessed an 8% growth.
Philippines reported 4% year-over-year growth in online hiring, a marginal improvement from 1% recorded between February 2015 and 2016. The sector is also amongst the industry sectors witnessing the highest growth in the country.
BFSI Industry:
| Month | Market | 2015 | 2016 | % Growth Y-o-Y |
| January | Singapore | 104 | 104 | 0% |
| Malaysia | 89 | 73 | -18% | |
| Philippines | 86 | 97 | 13% | |
| February | Singapore | 117 | 112 | -4% |
| Malaysia | 102 | 63 | -38% | |
| Philippines | 98 | 99 | 1% | |
| March | Singapore | 113 | 121 | 7% |
| Malaysia | 105 | 97 | -8% | |
| Philippines | 101 | 105 | 4% |
Finance & Accounts Roles:
| Month | Market | 2015 | 2016 | % Growth Y-o-Y |
| January | Singapore | 89 | 84 | -6% |
| Malaysia | 89 | 75 | -16% | |
| Philippines | 85 | 85 | 0% | |
| February | Singapore | 104 | 91 | -13% |
| Malaysia | 96 | 68 | -29% | |
| Philippines | 102 | 86 | -16% | |
| March | Singapore | 100 | 99 | -1% |
| Malaysia | 98 | 90 | -8% | |
| Philippines | 111 | 91 | -18% |
When looking at Finance and Accounts roles, none of the markets witnessed positive annual growth in online demand in March 2016. Philippines reported the steepest decline at -18%, falling further from -16% reported between February 2015 and 2016.
Singapore saw the least decline at -1% year-over-year. Month-on-month hiring activities in Singapore between February and March saw a 9% growth. Malaysia reported -8% year-over-year plunge in online demand for Finance and Accounts professionals. Despite the plunge, this is a 21% improvement from -29% year-over-year reported between February 2015 and 2016.
“Growth in these markets is set to pick up in 2016, as the global economy begins to show signs of recovery. Hiring prospects in Finance and Accounts jobs appear to be one of the most promising across the region, with banks such as Standard Chartered reportedly boosting their regional hiring efforts, signifying greater confidence amongst employers in the banking space job market,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com (India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong).
The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity, based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings. 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.
