Slower hiring, but IT pros and engineers needed: JobStreet

• Only 28% forecast job growth, mainly from accounting, sales, marketing and construction industries
• Minimum wage cited as a reason; also many employers finding it hard to get right talent and skills

ACCORDING to the recent JobStreet.com Job Outlook Index report on Malaysia, hiring is expected to slow down for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2013, although IT professionals and a variety of engineers are still in demand.
 
Similar to the response in Q4 2012, about 40% of respondents said job growth for the end of this quarter will remain cautious, JobStreet.com said in a statement.
 
The general sentiment is that hiring will slow down this quarter as existing employees will still stay on for bonus pay-out, which is normally distributed from January to April of the next year.
 
Only 28% forecast the job growth will be better and these industries are mainly from accounting, sales, marketing and construction.
 
Out of the same pool of respondents, 43% are planning to fill only less than 10 positions for the next three to six months. “With the reinforcement of minimum wage in January 2014, we cannot afford to hire more employees,” said one hiring manager, JobStreet.com reported.
 
In order to help retain employees looking to leave, 51% of employers said they will increase salaries and provide better work arrangements for their employees.
 
Below are the top 10 specialisations that surveyed employers seek the most:

In hiring aspects, many employers are finding it difficult to obtain the right talent and skills. This means companies are facing stiffer competition when hiring qualified talent.
 
One of the employers from the business services industry stated, “There will be no shortage of job opportunities for good talent in Malaysia. Good times or bad, good talent will always be sought after.”
 
A total of 578 JobStreet.com clients, managers and senior managers across various industries in Malaysia participated in this survey conducted in October. The Job Outlook Index, as measured by JobStreet.com, looks at the expectations of job growth (or employment prospects) in the industries on a quarterly basis.
 
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