Malaysia’s online hiring for construction, real estate industry records steepest decline

KUALA LUMPUR (June 7): Malaysia’s online hiring activity in the engineering, construction and real estate industry recorded the steepest annual decline in April this year, according to the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI).

The 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 a statement on the latest MEI released today, online hiring for the engineering, construction and real estate industry was down 9% from a year ago.

MEI also found that in terms of job occupations, engineering/production and real estate jobs witnessed the steepest year-on-year decline of 6% in April 2019.

Overall, the annual growth in online hiring in Malaysia registered a 7% increase with eight out of nine industry sectors monitored by the index showing positive annual growth.

Notably, the retail industry displayed a significant uptrend in e-recruitment activity for the second consecutive month, with an increase of 26% year-on-year. However, the growth has eased slightly between March and April 2019, recording a 2% decline.

Meanwhile, online hiring activity in the IT and telecommunications sector showed the highest year-on-year growth in April 2019 with 43%. The sector has been witnessing double-digit annual growth since July 2018.

Another sector that has seen a long-term growth momentum is oil and gas – with a 16% year-on-year growth.

Of the nine job-roles monitored by the index, six recorded positive annual growth. The demand for software, hardware and telecom professionals recorded an uptrend of 41%.

For the second consecutive month, customer service ranked among the top growth occupations, with a 10% increase on-year.

CEO of Monster.com-APAC and Middle East Abhijeet Mukherjee said in the press release: “The Malaysian economy continues to expand at a steady and promising pace. The country’s main economic sectors are expected to record positive growth, with the service and manufacturing sectors projected to grow by 5.7% and 4.8% respectively.”

“After the significant increase in the first quarter, the second quarter should continue to exhibit positive growth.

“The boost in online hiring will likely continue to increase, though in a slow and steady manner – especially since some sectors showed steep declines,” added Mukherjee.