Online recruitment remains stagnant for Oct; 7% decline year-on-year

Online recruitment remained sluggish in October, as employers across multiple industry sectors remain cautious about expanding their headcount amid a slowing economy.

The latest Monster Employment Index (MEI) Singapore showed a year-on-year decline of 7 per cent in e-recruitment for October.

The index, conducted by Monster India, is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity based on employer job opportunities gathered from a diverse selection of online career outlets.

The index found that the percentage year-on-year decline was the same in September.

All industries registered a dip in online recruitment. The only bright spot came from the education sector, which saw a 3 per cent year-on-year increase.

The consumer goods/FMCG, food and packaged food, home appliances, garments, textiles, leather, gems and jewellery sectors saw the greatest decline of 18 per cent compared to October last year.

Other industries that saw declines included the government sector (-14 per cent), production (-13 per cent) shipping (-9 per cent) and hospitality (-8 per cent).

Going by occupation, jobs in healthcare registered an increase — 1 per cent — out of the 12 occupational groups monitored by the index. The steepest declines were seen in engineering/production and real estate where both registered a 13 per cent decline.

“The overall stagnation in online hiring in Singapore is partly attributed to the declining oil prices and China’s weak economic situation, causing companies to be more cautious in hiring and candidates to reconsider their job options,” said Sanjay Modi, managing director of Monster.com (India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong).

“The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reported on low export orders and production, which has led to a drop in manufacturing activity in Singapore for the fourth consecutive month. This has contributed to the the overall gloomy outlook in Singapore’s business environment,” added Mr Modi.

news source & image credits: todayonline.com

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