Online hiring activity in Malaysia grew by 2.6% y-o-y in March 2023

The hospitality industry continued to dominate Malaysia's job market in March 2023, recording a y-o-y increase of 59%.

Hiring activity in Malaysia improved by 3% month-on-month (m-o-m) in March 2023, foundit's Insights Tracker (FIT) has revealed. 

Per the tracker, hiring also increased by 2.6% year-on-year (y-o-y), with the index rising from 76 in March 2022 to 78 in March this year.

The FIT further revealed the key hiring trends in the month, across selected industries in the country:

Industries that observed growth in hiring

As showcased, the hospitality industry continued to dominate Malaysia's job market in March 2023, recording a y-o-y increase of 59%. 

Clarifying to HRO the reason for this trend, the foundit team shared that sustainable solutions are driving job demand in the hospitality industry as there is an increasing focus on sustainability and responsible tourism. As such, the adoption of sustainable practices in operations and food and beverage options, along with the government taking measures to promote eco-tourism has led to the increase in jobs.

"As a result, there is a growing demand for professionals with expertise in sustainability and environmental management, which is creating new job opportunities in the hospitality industry,” the team explained. 

Similarly, the retail and BFSI industries also recorded an increase in hiring demand in March:

• a 26% y-o-y improvement in retail, attributed to increasing sales in the consumer market
• a 17% increase in the BFSI industry, driven by the development of digital banking ecosystems.

Among others, the oil & gas industry also saw an improved hiring demand in March 2023, with a y-o-y increase of 6%, "as the sector was going through its low since November 2021."

Industries that observed a decline in hiring

While the above was so, the following industries recorded a drop in hiring activity & demand:

• IT, Telecom/ISP, and BPO/ITES industries, with a y-o-y decrease of 24%. This trend, the tracker observed, can be attributed to recent retrenchments and hiring freezes by major tech companies.
• The logistics, courier/freight/transportation, and shipping/marine industries, with a y-o-y decrease of 21%.
• Engineering, construction & real estate, production/manufacturing, automotive and ancillary, and advertising, market research, public relations, media & entertainment also saw a decline in hiring, likely due to uncertain global economic conditions.

Hiring trends across functions

In terms of functional roles, hospitality & travel saw the most significant demand in March 2023 (+210% y-o-y), which could be attributed to the rise in domestic tourism in the country; followed by sales & business development (+15% y-o-y).

At the same time, finance & accounts also saw an increase in risk management and compliance roles, with a growth of 13% y-o-y, attributed to regulatory changes, and online sales channels.

Finally, marketing & communications as well as HR & admin roles saw a slight increase in activity online, recording growths of 8% and 1% respectively.

However, certain functional roles saw a decline in hiring demand & activity from March 2022 to March 2023:

• Customer service: -51%
• Purchase/ logistics/ supply chain: -9%
• Software, hardware & telecom: 3%
• Engineering/production: -2%
• Real estate: -2%

The foundit Insights Tracker is a monthly analysis of online job posting activity conducted by foundit. Based on a real-time review of employer job opportunities culled from a representative selection of online career outlets, the FIT presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide.

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