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Data compiled by Career Times Research Team
There is an all-pervading optimism that job recruitment has "turned the
corner" - helped in no small measure by cross-border demand in certain sectors
In contrast to the first half of 2003, Hong Kong's job market for the comparable period this year has produced some encouraging data. While exceptionally poor figures related to the impact of SARS and the stagnant economy were recorded last year, figures produced by the Career Times research team show that the number of locally advertised vacancies from January to June 2004 has improved markedly.
Barring traditional seasonal lows at Chinese New Year and Easter, hiring trends are positive across almost all sectors, reinforced by a lower unemployment rate in Hong Kong. Indeed, industry experts confirm there has been a tremendous increase in recruitment in 2004, with companies indicating renewed confidence in the market.
"Hong Kong, in true tradition, does not let the grass grow under its feet and has come back strongly this year," says Deborah Morgan, regional area manager, Hong Kong and Philippines, Manpower Services (Hong Kong) Limited. "As a result," she says, "the pace of the city is always reflected in the hiring requirements of major companies."
Based on the results of the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey of 576 Hong Kong companies, who were interviewed by phone in May, Ms Morgan believes local employers are anticipating good third quarter prospects and "strong year-on-year labour market growth." In addition, the surge in numbers of mainland tourists has led to a strong increase in the retail sector, not to mention the hospitality and tourism industries, she says. "Investment in Hong Kong is also growing steadily, with high demand for people with mergers and acquisitions experience in Asia."
While hiring in all industries has picked up, Ms Morgan says the biggest increases have been recorded in the banking and information technology (IT) sectors. A "huge increase" has also been observed in cross-border recruitment. "Clients in Hong Kong are placing their recruitment needs with us for the mainland, either for strong local candidates or from the mainland itself," she explains. "It is exciting to witness developments in this area."
Manufacturing rebound
The manufacturing sector, meanwhile, has seen a 50 to 60 percent rise in vacancies in the first six months, according to research, while the second quarter should show an increase of between 10 and 15 percent compared to the first quarter. "This is mainly related to electrical, electronic products, toys and sundries, chemical and construction materials," notes Victor Lai, managing consultant, Drake International.
The positions of general manager and operations director, plus logistics, quality and engineering managerial roles, "either travelling to or stationed in South China plants" will also continue to be strong for the second half of this year, Mr Lai adds. Government positions, meanwhile, are still "barely registering on the radar". And, when positions do become available, Mr Lai believes they will only cover re-hired personnel on contract terms.
Demand for executives is up 76 per cent compared with last year, according to the Executive Demand Index for the first half of the year, generated by E.L Consult Hong Kong Ltd. Research by the Career Times team also points to rising numbers of director and managerial positions across the board in Hong Kong over the past six months.
The unemployment rate has continuously been reduced in the IT sector, according to InfoTech director, Edwin Tam. "I remain optimistic about the IT job market in the coming months," he says.
This is in contrast to 2002 and 2003 when, according to Mr Tam, demand primarily came from large corporations and the government regarding large-scale projects. "Demand for IT staff from various sectors, including SMEs, has increased steadily in the past few months," he notes.
Data compiled by Career Times Research Team
Hot jobs
Today, hot IT job categories include SAP/R3 functional consultants, OS/390, z/OS and CICS application and systems programmers and Cisco Certified Network Professionals with hands-on enterprise network configuration experience.
The local property management sector is still showing "no improvement", according to Manlink Personnel's managing director, Paul Ho. "In the construction industry, the next half-year will still be difficult," he predicts. "Perhaps the development of hotels, resorts and gaming establishments in Macau can provide employment opportunities for those unemployed in the next, say, one to three years."
In general, the outlook for the hotel job market is rosy. The opening of a total of approximately 1,300 new rooms at Le Meridien Cyberport and the soon-to-open Langham Place, Mongkok and Cosmopolitan, Happy Valley confirm that jobs in the hotel field will be "easy to come by", notes one industry insider. Management executives in some of these establishments are nonetheless cautious. "They will only hire something like 80 percent of their manning par," the industry source says. "But, all in all, the picture looks good."
Although increasing numbers of banking, finance and insurance sales staff are being recruited, "the back office is still weak", according to Advance Resources' managing director, Kathy Chan. Compared to the first half of 2003, the situation is "better", but "back office people really need to open their eyes and think about what is going to happen in the future."
Finally, demand in the telecoms market has largely lain dormant through outsourcing, secondments, or jobs arising on a contract basis. "They are not hiring anyone on a permanent basis at senior level," notes Kamy Chan, client service manager at Gemini Personnel. "At junior level, however, there are still some vacancies on a permanent basis."
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Data compiled by Career Times Research Team
Taken from Career Times 2004/07/09
Your comments are welcome at editor@careertimes.com.hk
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