Volume of Job Advertisements Increases By 11%

Hiring activity in Asia continued to stay strong in the second quarter of 2015, with the number of job advertisements up 11% from a year ago, according to the Robert Walters Asia Job Index. The research carried out in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, and Malaysia, tracking advertisement volumes for professional positions across the leading job boards and national newspapers.

The IT sector posted the largest growth of 26% in job advertisement volumes as e-commerce and mobile applications became increasingly popular. The merchandising and purchasing sectors also saw a notable rise in job advertising numbers due to the rise in multinationals establishing their sourcing hubs in Asia.

The report also finds that talent attraction and retention remained a key priority for hiring managers across Asia as they continued to face the challenge of recruiting in increasingly candidate-driven markets. Hence the key emphasis across most industries was on streamlining their recruitment processes to secure the best professionals in the market as well as strengthening retention strategies to prevent losing top talent to competitors.

In Japan, the number of job advertisements in Q2 has increased by 26%, which exceeds other markets in the region.

David Swan, Managing Director Robert Walters Japan & Korea, said:
“Japan saw strong growth in the number of job advertisements in Q2, as companies regained their confidence following last year’s sales tax hike. The weak Yen remained a key driver of active hiring within the export-driven manufacturing sector, especially for automotive companies and related industries such as spare part suppliers, as well as industrial machinery and electric device manufacturers. New market entrants as well as companies expanding their operations in the country also added new headcount in the IT, HR as well as finance and accounting functions. With Japan’s job vacancies reaching the highest levels for the first time in 23 years in May, finding talent has become an increasing challenge for companies. As such, we saw a corresponding rise in demand for HR specialists in talent management and acquisition.”

Key Findings for Japan:

• The FMCG space saw a strong demand for sales staff and business development managers due to a recovery in consumer sentiment. This has contributed to a 20% growth in the number of retail job advertisements annually.
• IT job advertising volumes rose by 12% from a year ago, as companies strengthened their presence on social media and digital platforms. System engineers and project managers were also in high demand due to increased business activity in this area.
• Improved profits at Japan’s major manufacturers helped stimulate the hiring activity for automotive companies and related industries. These companies created new roles and replacement positions, with engineering job advertisements up 7% year-on-year.
• Expanding companies and new market entrants sought HR specialists in talent management and acquisition to identify and retain professionals with appropriate skill sets. Bilingual accountants were also in high demand, especially within multinationals.