|
zoom in
Data compiled by Career Times Research Team
A combination of the traditional upturn after Chinese New Year and better overall sentiment is leading to fresh hirings and a more positive outlook in most sectors
As first seen in the second half of 2003, sentiment in the job market has been picking up and the Career Times market research team's report for the first quarter of 2004 indicates continuing improvement. This is evident in the steady rise in jobs advertised after the seasonal Chinese New Year lull, with a peak of 3,899 vacancies in the week of 15-21 February and only a marginal drop from that level in March.
The hotel industry is already showing signs of recovery thanks, in part, to the planned opening of several new hotels in 2004. These include Le Meridien Cyberport in April, the Langham Place Hotel in July and the soft opening of the Cosmopolitan Hotel in August.
Based on figures from the Hong Kong Tourism Board's Hotel Supply Situation Report, there will be 107 hotels and 42,694 rooms in Hong Kong by late 2004 and these numbers will increase to 117 and 50,168 respectively in 2005. An HKTB spokesperson noted that media reports indicate that "a number of other projects, especially conversion projects, are in the pipeline".
Although supply continues to outweigh demand within the building and construction industry, Paul Ho, managing director of Manlink Personnel observes, "companies cannot find good people", as talented staff are reluctant to move due to concerns about job security.
Mr Ho also notes that the situation in this industry is, "not so promising as there are no large projects coming up," other than the multi-billion dollar Stonecutters Bridge project.
In addition, the construction sector is impacted by the real estate market and continues to see "more people than jobs available". The civil and structural side, meanwhile, is "greatly affected" by the government's budget deficit and still not seeing enough projects.
Banking and finance has shown a marked improvement since early 2003, reaching a high of 421 advertised vacancies in late February. Indeed, "in terms of the core market of accountants going into commercial companies, the first quarter this year was fantastic," says Dan Chavasse, managing director, Greater China, Michael Page International.
"The banking market has been slower to respond as a lot of people waited for their year-end bonuses. Once those were in the bank, they resigned," Mr Chavasse notes. "The other thing driving the market is genuine expansion with companies hiring because they are investing in this part of the world and need sales, marketing, finance and human resources personnel."
The insurance market, meanwhile, is "generally getting better, with more positions available", although these are mainly for customer service or sales staff, according to Kathy Chan, director, Advance Resources. Indeed, insurance companies in Hong Kong appear to be adopting a new approach following the trend in both the US and UK markets. "Most insurance companies are looking at alternative distribution channels, moving into brokerage and acting as independent financial advisers," she explains.
"My concern is mainly for back office staff, as I see few openings, especially in insurance companies," Ms Chan adds. "Banking is moving many back office functions to China and I see insurance companies doing the same. This is a big concern as we anticipate a lot of settlement, credit control and hotline staff will be made redundant and they do not have transferable skills to move into another industry. People in insurance will have the same problem."
Data compiled by Career Times Research Team
In general, the telecom sector is showing a slight improvement compared to 2003, peaking at 106 jobs advertised in the first week of February, with forecasts positive for the rest of 2004. "Most positions are still for limited contracts or outsourcing work; other permanent positions are for more regional roles," says Kammy Chan, client service manager at Gemini Personnel.
"New vacancies are mostly to replace staff previously laid-off and for regional positions covering Hong Kong and China. Also, localisation is taking place in the China market so China recruitment for telecoms has grown tremendously in the past few months," she adds.
Steady improvement is also being seen in the executive job market, according to E.L Consult's March 2004 Executive Demand Index, which forecasts executive demand gradually strengthening during 2004, in line with Hong Kong's overall economic outlook of six percent growth. "There is a recovery, but not a strong recovery," explains Alfred Chown, principal, E.L Consult, who believes it will take time for the benefits of the economic upturn to emerge. "We are seeing an improvement in the economy and a corresponding rebound in the job outlook," he says.
Recovery is also on the cards in the information technology (IT) sector, with the number of advertised job vacancies hitting 177 in the first week in March. "The job market has experienced a steady recovery in the first quarter of 2004. This has been a continuous rebound since the fourth quarter of 2003, which contrasts with the consistent downward trend after the dotcom bubble of 2001," notes Edwin Tam, director, InfoTech. "The number of vacancies and the levels of pay are both increasing."
zoom in
Data compiled by Career Times Research Team
Taken from Career Times 2004/04/16
Your comments are welcome at editor@careertimes.com.hk
|
;)
;)
