December online hiring rises 3% — Monster.com

ONLINE hiring activity in December was up 3% year on year, amid strong economic fundamentals that protected the country from external turbulence, online hiring site Monster.com said in announcing its Monster Employment Index. (MEI).

The December outcome was the culmination of notable growth in hiring activity in the second half of 2016, MEI said, which suggests “a positive picture for the months ahead.”

“The local Philippine economy has held up relatively well against external storms in 2016 when compared its regional counterparts,” said Sanjay Modi, managing director of Monster.com for Asia Pacific and the Middle East in the statement.

“This is attributed to the country’s sound fundamentals and other strong policies that were put in place, positioning the country as a shining spot for business opportunities and investments, and in turn greatly boosting job opportunities for locals, and the economy on the whole.”

The MEI is a monthly measure of online job posting activity in the country, recording the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity.

Online hiring in the Philippines was sluggish at the beginning of 2016, when all industries collectively dipped 10% year on year. This was then followed by a 12% slide in February year on year, which accounts for the steepest drop in 2016.

Negative momentum continued until April, when the country saw its index gain at 4%, and continued more or less flat for the rest of the year except for a 2% slide in September.

Noting the recovery during the second half of 2016, Sanjay Modi said that there would be “a lot more spikes” in online hiring this year, especially since firms warm to the start of the new fiscal year, especially in the Tourism, Manufacturing and Business Process Outsourcing sector.”

“On top of that, the government has planned to create at least 1.2 million new jobs each year until 2022 to fully tap into the local untapped work force, and will likely contribute to hiring numbers in 2017,” he said, referring to the hiring target of the Department of Labor and Employment.

Moreover, MEI said that the banking sector bucked the regional trend in online hiring, which saw a dip last year, as the industry reported growth throughout 2016. It grew 14% in January, spiking in May with a 28% increase in online hiring.

“The year capped off with 20% annual growth in December, and saw an overall 15% year-on-year average growth for the year,” MEI said.

The Information Technology sector, on the other hand, posted stable growth, with a 12% yearon-year rise in January and a spike in April of 23%. It reverted to a 12% rise in December.

Online demand for marketing professionals was mixed last year, MEI said. It began the year with an 11% dip, before recovering with a 12% gain in the next month, peaking in July at 33%.

Recruitment activity fluctuated for the rest of the year despite recording mostly positive growth, and the trend will likely repeat in 2017, MEI said. —