Demand for IT professionals in Southeast Asia exhibited a mostly upward trend between September 2015 and 2016, with both Singapore and the Philippines reporting a rise in demand for industry talent.
Malaysia, on the other hand, faced a sharp -22% year-on-year decline, according the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI).
Singapore once again reported the strongest annual growth in online hiring in the IT, Telecom/ ISP and BPO/ITES sector, at 9% year-on-year. The sector is also the best performing industry in Singapore. The Philippines also registered a positive annual growth, at 3% year-on-year.
IT, Telecom/ ISP and BPO/ ITES industry
Looking specifically at the annual online demand for Software, Hardware and Telecom talent, Singapore was the only market to register an annual growth, at 18% year-on-year. This is also a 2% improvement from 16% year-on-year growth registered between August 2015 and 2016.
Malaysia recorded a -40% year-on-year decline in online hiring of these professionals, the weakest amongst the three markets. The role is also one of the least in demand occupation in September. The Philippines also reported a marginal decline, with a -1% drop.
Software, Hardware, Telecom jobs
“In today’s digital economy, firms are encouraged to adopt or develop new technological capabilities in order to stay relevant. Unfortunately, employers are still faced with a shortage of talent in this space, where there isn’t enough qualified candidates around who are capable of taking on these digital roles that are already available,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com – APAC and Middle East.
“In Singapore, new initiatives in an attempt to help close such skill gaps and to gear talent up for IT jobs have been progressively rolled out. This is likely to have served as a form of encouragement for employers, leading to a pick up in hiring. That’s not excluding the fact that large MNCs have been eyeing Singapore to become their next regional IT hub, bringing about more job opportunities locally.”