Asia Pacific – Number of contracting jobs and professional jobseekers decline in Q4

By memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Danny Romero)

The number of professionals seeking new jobs across Asia Pacific is down 14% compared to the previous year, and the number of contracting job vacancies decreased by 16% compared to last year according to the latest Morgan McKinley APAC Employment Monitor for the fourth quarter.

The monitor also shows that across the Asia Pacific region, permanent financial services jobs are down 5% year-on-year.

“The end of the year is for crafting a hiring plan, the beginning of the year is for executing that plan”, Richie Holliday, Chief Operations Officer, Morgan McKinley Asia Pacific, said. “We’re seeing the seasonal jobs slowdown now, and similarly can expect to see a jobs spike in the first quarter of 2017”.

Morgan McKinley began reporting contracting employment data in 2016. Contracting jobs started the year off with an increase of 50% quarter-on-quarter, and closed the year with a drop of 21% in jobs available.

“The APAC region remains slower than others to embrace contract employment, but as the region adjusts to ongoing market and political volatility, we expect the sector to grow”, Holliday said. “Contractor jobs are the most susceptible to seasonal shifts, so it’s normal to see them outperform during spikes and underperform during lulls. During periods of uncertainty, financial institutions are often unable to secure budget clearance for additional permanent staff, so a rise in contract jobs usually follows.”

Meanwhile, in Japan, there was a 4% increase in jobs available quarter-on-quarter and 50% decrease in candidates, quarter-on-quarter.

Australia saw a 5% decrease in jobs, quarter-on-quarter and 26% decrease in candidates, quarter-on-quarter. The quarterly drop in candidates can be largely attributed to seasonal factors.

China saw a 14% decrease in jobs, quarter-on-quarter and 51% increase in candidates, quarter-on-quarter. Shanghai’s employment market has been negatively impacted by both the downturn in the retail sector as well as the property bubble.

Hong Kong: 9% decrease in jobs, quarter-on-quarter and 25% decrease in candidates, quarter-on-quarter, which was consistent with seasonal trends.

In Singapore, a 7% decrease in jobs, quarter-on-quarter was noted and a 17% decrease in candidates, quarter-on-quarter, was also reported. The Singapore government’s efforts to limit foreign born non-resident professionals from the employment market influenced the flow of candidates markedly in 2016, according to Morgan McKinley.

Source:: Staffing Industry Analysts Daily Newsfeed