● The IT industry recorded maximum growth among all sectors, reaching a record high of 38% year-on-year growth in August.
● Software, Hardware, Telecom charts the steepest growth in online recruitment demand among occupation categories.
● Engineering, Construction and Real Estate sectors exhibits the steepest decline in online recruitment activity.
In the wake of Malaysia’s ongoing digital transformation, companies seem to be ramping up their online hiring. This is evidenced by the steep online hiring sentiment in the IT sector this quarter, which saw a 31% year-on-year increase in July, a record high increase of 38% in August and 31% annual growth in September.
IT-related job roles in Software, Hardware and Telecommunications also recorded strong growth in online demand among occupation categories. The job-role saw an impressive 37% year-on-year spike in July, and a 32% increase in demand for both August and September.
Other notable industries with significant growth was Retail, up 23% year-on-year for July, 13% for August and 22% for September. It is also ranked among the top growth industries for the seventh consecutive month. The Hospitality and Consumer Goods industries also witnessed impressive, double-digit, year-on-year increases in online hiring demand this quarter. Meanwhile, the Engineering, Construction and Real Estate industry experienced the most-notable annual decline among the monitored sectors, with a decrease of 6%, 10% and 5% on-the-year for the months of July, August and September respectively.
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 terms of specific job roles, seven out of the ten occupations monitored by the Index recorded positive e-recruitment growth this quarter. This was led by Software, Hardware, Telecom professionals, experiencing a 10% lift from the previous quarter. There was also a demand for professionals in Customer Service, which had a 23% year-on-year increase in recruitment demand in July, followed by 0% and 5% on-the-year annual growth in August and September, respectively. On the flip side, Engineering, Production, Real Estate professionals saw a decline in recruitment demand for the quarter, with a reduction of 3%, 9% and 3% for the months of July, August and September.
“The growth of the IT industry is in line with Malaysia’s commitment in transitioning the country into a digital economy that embraces Industry 4.0. Malaysia’s recent 2020 Budget Speech was focused on digitalisation and technology driving the economy towards a new era,” said Krish Seshadri, CEO of Monster.com – APAC and Middle East. “The government’s introduction of the 5G Ecosystem Development Grant worth RM50 million will accelerate technological developments in Malaysia, boosting recruitment within the IT sector. Businesses are already turning to e-recruitment to amp up the hiring of tech talent in order to increase their digital transformation efforts, in line with Malaysia’s digital transformation drive,” he added.
The Monster Employment Index is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity, based on a realtime review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings across Malaysia.
