Hiring grows for fifth straight month in May; BPO declines

HIRING ACTIVITY grew for a fifth straight month in May, with job listings rising 7% year on year, though the growth rate was slower than the 12% recorded in April, and the business process outsourcing ( BPO) sector continuing to post double- digit declines, online jobs website Monster.com said.

In a statement accompanying the release of its Monster Employment Index (MEI), the company said “hiring sentiment continues to rise in the Philippines, (which recorded) five consecutive months of positive hiring activity in 2018.”

The company said the MEI for the Philippines is “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.”

The MEI reported that the retail industry “recorded the steepest growth” in hiring activity, rising 23% year on year in April and 33% in May.

On the other hand, hiring activity in the BPO and Information Technology- enabled Services (ITES) industry declined 15% year on year in April and 11% in May.

MEI added that “nine out of the 10 job roles monitored by the Index recorded positive annual growth in online demand.”

“Purchasing/Logistics/Supply Chain professionals led year-on-year growth in online demand among occupation categories for two consecutive months, rising 32% in April and 27% in May,” Monster.com said.

Other occupations posting growth in May, as reported by the MEI, were Finance and Accounts (27%); Human Resources and Administration (24%); Sales and Business Development (23%); and Software, Hardware, and Telecom (19%).

Customer Service was “the only job role to record negative growth, down 21% in April and -19% in May.”

Monster.com Asia Pacific and Middle East CEO Abhijeet Mukherjee said “”Modern retail in the Philippines is growing rapidly, driven by strong economic growth and increase in purchasing power. The total retail value of the country is projected to increase to around $94 billion by 2020.”

He added: “The burgeoning retail landscape also reflects urbanization in the Philippines and changing consumer lifestyles with the government setting top priority initiatives to expand logistics and infrastructure development.” —