Australia – Seek job ads fall by 12.2% in February

Job ads in Australia have fallen by 12.2% year-over-year, according to job board operator Seek. On a monthly basis, job ads also fell by 1.6%.

The latest data also shows that applications per job ad decreased over the month for the first time in eight months by 1.8% in January.

On an annual basis, the...

Japan – Big firms agree to biggest wage hike in decades (Reuters)

Top companies in Japan have agreed to give their employees their largest wage hike in decades during their annual labour talks earlier this month, Reuters reported, following pressure from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to increase salaries amid rising inflation. Salaries of Japanese workers have remained...

Asia Pacific – Foreign workers in Malaysia expected to exceed 1 million in 2023 (Vietnam Plus)

The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) believes that the number of foreign workers in Malaysia will easily exceed 1 million in 2023. Vietnam Plus reports FMM (Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers) President Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said the recruitment of foreign workers has improved from previous...

Hong Kong – Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate improves to 3.3% in February quarter

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Hong Kong stood at 3.3% in the period from December– February 2022, down from 4.5% during the same period a year ago, according to the latest labour force statistics published by the Census and Statistics Department.

Compared to the previous three-month period,...

Australia – Union report shows wage theft is 'endemic' at universities

Universities across Australia owe over AUD 100 million (USD 66.5 million) in stolen wages, the National Tertiary Education Union uncovered in a recent report, calling it an endemic part of universities' business models.

The NTEU had initially analysed 34 institutions from 2020 onward and found a collective...

South Korea – Government to reconsider plans of introducing 69-hour workweek following backlash (Bloomberg)

The South Korean government will reconsider plans to increase weekly working hours to 69 following backlash from women's rights and younger working age groups. Bloomberg reported the office of President Yook Suk Yeol instructed his agencies to communicate better with the public, ', especially with Generation...

Australia – Ignite CEO to step down

Ignite Ltd. (IGN:ASX), a Sydney, Australia-based recruitment firm, announced that Tim Moran has tendered his resignation as Chief Executive Officer. His final employment date will be 31 March 2023.

Following Moran’s decision to step down as CEO, the group has appointed Cameron Judson as Executive Director...

World – OECD unemployment rate remains at record low 4.9% in January

The unemployment rate across the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) remained at 4.9% in January 2023, the seventh consecutive month at this record low since the start of the series in 2001.

The number of unemployed persons declined to 33.2 million, remaining close to the record...

New Zealand – Seasonally adjusted filled jobs climb 0.3% in December quarter

The number of filled jobs in New Zealand went up by 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in the December quarter, or up 6,533 jobs, when compared to the September quarter, according to a report from Stats NZ.

For the year ending December 2022, gross earnings were up over the year by 9.1% or NZD 12.9 billion...

Australia – Fair Work Ombudsman takes former cleaning company to court for alleged worker misclassification of migrants

Australia’s workplace watchdog has filed a case against the former directors of a cleaning company, alleging they were involved in sham contracting of five migrant cleaners who were underpaid more than AUD 125,000 (82,994 USD).

Timothy Baxter Chambers and Craig Richard Simpson were the former directors...