Jobs Still Available Despite Tough Sentiment

In spite of the tough sentiment in the current job market, there are still plenty of job opportunities available, said JobStreet.com’s country manager for Malaysia and Singapore Chook Yuh Yng.

“There is tough sentiment amidst [the job market], but through our survey, we found that 84% of employers in the market are still willing to hire at the same rate or more,” Chook said.

Job advertisement postings on JobStreet.com has been on a 3% decline on a year-to-date basis. However, more than 27,000 advertisements are still being posted, denoting a positive factor for the market, she added.

“Even though sentiment generally is tough [and has been on a decline], there are still a lot of job opportunities out there,” she said.

The survey conducted by the online recruitment portal found that 9% of employers plan to reduce their hiring numbers, while only 7% of overall employers are choosing to not hire new employees.

During a forum jointly organised by JobStreet.com and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia to discuss the role of graduate underemployment in the 21st century, JobStreet.com revealed that the top factors for graduate unemployment are that graduates expect unrealistic salaries, are overly selective about the job or company, and have poor attitude, poor command of English or poor communication skills.

[Source]