Regional online hiring activities in banking, finance sector still fluctuating

Online recruitment has been struggling.

According to the latest Monster Employment Index, with economic uncertainty lying ahead in Southeast Asia, online hiring activities in the BFSI industry across Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines have continued to yo-yo.

The MEI, a monthly gauge of online job hiring activity, records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity in various markets. 

Comparing the figures to those within the same period from last year, the BFSI industry in Singapore experienced the steepest decline at -9% for July year-over-year, followed by Philippines at -8%. 

Here's more from the index:

Malaysia is the only market that displayed positive growth at 12% year-over-year. The BFSI industry in Malaysia and Philippines were registered as one of the top growth industries in each country. 

The fluctuations in online hiring within the industry were also reflected in Finance & Accounts job roles, where no market registered positive growth. Despite the negative growth, Finance & Accounts roles in Malaysia and Philippines emerged as one of the top occupations overall. 

Online hiring activities in the Philippines’ BFSI industry and Finance & Account roles have been steadily improving, as opposed to the figures in Singapore, where the figures have been falling year-over-year.

“While overall online hiring activities in the region are looking bleak, the figures could pick up in the coming months, particularly among Finance & Accounts roles. Even with the introduction of new banking technologies which serve to facilitate operations within the industry, there will still be a demand for various roles to fill existing workplace gaps,” said Sanjay Modi, Managing Director, Monster.com (India, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong).

“While employers still are keen to increase the headcount of organisations in Singapore, online hiring activities may slow down in the short term, which could be attributed to the offshoring and downsizing of banks to more cost-effective locations. Banking professionals in Malaysia on the other hand, could continue to experience a steady growth in demand, as more international brands slowly move some their services into the country.”