Banking firms suffer online hiring decline in January

While software, hardware, and telecom firms enjoy a high talent demand.

Tracking muted growth across Southeast Asia, Singapore’s banking and finance sector posted a 2% year-on-year (y-o-y) decline in online hiring, according to the Monster Employment Index (MEI).

The MEI is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity, based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a representative selection of career websites and online job postings across Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

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.

Aside from the banking and financial services sector, other industries that posted negative growth include retail/trade and logistics (-7%); advertising, market research, public relations, media and entertainment (-5%); engineering, construction, and real estate (-5%); and government/PSU/defense (-1%).

Meanwhile, the hospitality and IT/BPO industries posted the highest growth, registering 11% y-o-y growth. The consumer goods/FMCG/food sector also posted positive growth at 7%, followed by education at 5% and health care at 3%.

Software, Hardware, and Telecom professionals also witnessed the most demand on-the-year, posting a 21% y-o-y growth.

“The rapid infusion of finance and technology will require talent in finance to advance their skills and knowledge in cloud computing and analytics to stay abreast of new trends and technologies,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director at Monster.com – APAC and the Middle East.

Driven by robust economic growth and strong domestic demand, the Philippines posted a 19% y-o-y increase in online hiring for the banking and finance sector, while Malaysia also recorded an 11% y-o-y growth.