Online hiring spikes as demand for HR, admin professionals rises

MANILA, Philippines — Online hiring activity sustained its growth in April as the country saw a surge in demand for human resources and administrative professionals, according to employment website Monster.com. 

E-recruitment in the country posted an 11 percent year-on-year increase in April based on the Monster Employment Index (MEI), with human resources and administrative professionals recording the highest jump in demand at 19 percent.

The growth in online hiring activity in April was slightly slower than the  13 percent year-on-year growth posted in March, which was driven by the strong demand in the healthcare industry.

Aside from HR and administrative professionals, other occupations monitored by the MEI also recorded double-digit growth in April, such as finance and accounts (18 percent), logistics/supply chain (16 percent), hospitality and travel (13 percent), ad marketing and communications (12 percent).

Occupations which had the lowest growth for the month of April were engineering and real estate with three percent, and sales and business development with five percent.

“The job market reported a stable momentum despite the 5.6 percent growth in the first quarter of 2019, and with the ongoing trade war and other economic headwinds businesses will remain cautiously optimistic,” according to Abhijeet Mukherjee, Monster.com CEO for APAC and Middle East.

Mukherjee earlier said online hiring sentiment in the Philippines has been consistently rising, and much of this growth can be attributed to the government’s infrastructural reforms, together with the push for greater foreign investment.

In terms of industries, the consumer goods and hospitality sectors led the demand with improvements of 22 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

They were followed by the logistic, transportation, and shipping sector which saw a 16 percent increase, and the health care industry with a 15 percent growth. 

The MEI also showed that the IT/telecom industry ranked among top growth industries for the first time this year, experiencing year-on-year growth of 14 percent.

Other industries part of the MEI recorded significant growth as well, except for the education sector, which saw a six percent decline in April.

“As traditional roles continue to evolve, digital competency remains high in demand. In fact, employers have a huge responsibility to empower employees with the right set of skills development initiatives. Organizations creating personalized learning paths to upskill employees in their current and future roles command a huge competitive advantage,” Mukherjee said.

“More importantly, to attract top talent in a competitive labor market like the Philippines, it is crucial for organizations to cultivate a strong employer brand by clearly articulating why their company is a great workplace,” Mukherjee said.

The MEI is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings across the Philippines.

It records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity locally.

The MEI was first launched in India in May 2010. It was launched in the Philippines, along with Malaysia, in May 2015 with data collected since February 2014.