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Malaysia – Employers Federation expects jobs crunch in 2015

03 March 2015

Employees looking to change job this year should consider putting their plans on hold unless their new jobs pay at least 20% more, according to Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan, Executives Director of the Malaysian Employers Federation, reports The Malaysian Daily Express.

With the spiralling cost of living and some big companies cutting jobs, Mr Bardan expects the local job market to experience a crunch in 2015: "2015 is an employer's market. New career opportunities have shrunk. With fewer jobs available, it is becoming increasingly difficult for fresh graduates to secure employment.”

Unless candidates can sure at least 20% more, it’s not worth the risk changing jobs, Mr Bardan warned: "This is because apart from having to get used to the new environment and culture, job-hoppers have to go through the probation. If they are not confirmed after the probation, they will be out of a job. This is the risk job-hoppers have to take."

According to surveys, people who have worked for a year or so and are in the 20-35 age bracket are those who are most likely to job-hop, he said. Statistics from the Companies Commission of Malaysia showed that amid the global economic uncertainties 2,581 companies closed in 2013, 6.7% more than in 2012.

"With the economic outlook [for 2015] fraught with challenges, Malaysians are more prudent in their spending, preferring to save for a rainy day. When people don't spend, the country's economy will slow down, forcing enterprises to review their output capacity. This will result in a weak market, which means less job opportunities," he added.

Mr Bardan believes the situation will improve only when the global economy picks up and the crude oil price bounds back to USD 70-80 a barrel.