Australia – Job creation slows

Last month, the number of advertised online jobs in Australia fell a seasonally adjusted -22% when compared to a year ago. This is according to the latest internet vacancy index by the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.

In January, the strongest decline in jobs was...

Australia – Engineers and ICT staff in short supply

Australian businesses will need a sharp focus on retaining top talent or risk missing growth opportunities amidst signs of a recovering economy, according to new research by Australian recruiter Clarius.

This showed major challenges for businesses which face a shortage of 9,700 professionals across a...

Brazil – 28,900 jobs added in January

Brazil gained 28,900 new jobs in January, mainly in the industrial sector, according to figures released by the country’s Labour Ministry. Economists had forecast the country would create around 50,000 jobs in the month.

The number of jobs generated in January signalled a -76% drop from the same time...

Singapore – GDP grows, labour productivity falls

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) announced that the Singapore economy grew by +1.3% in 2012 with the government maintaining its growth forecast for 2013 at 1.0 to 3.0%. In the last three months of the year, the economy grew by +1.5% on a year-on-year basis.

In the fourth quarter, the manufacturing...

Around the web – Employment agencies cautioned over migrant workers

Myanmar’s deputy labour ministry warned overseas employment agencies of tough penalties if recruiters fail to stick to their contractual duties. Speaking over the weekend, Myint Thein said that some recruitment firms “will have to face the consequences of their absence of accountability,” Eleven...

Vietnam – CareerBuilder buys job board

American job board CareerBuilder (NYSE:GCI) announced plans to acquire Vietnam Online Network (VON), one of the country’s largest job sites, for an undisclosed amount. The deal will increase the foothold of CareerBuilder in the local market.

The US recruiter will acquire two of VON’s sites, HRVietnam...

Australia – Demand for staffing services drops at Bluestone Global

Australia-based staffing company Bluestone Global (BUE:ASX) today reported a +1% increase in consolidated revenues for the six months to December. Revenues grew to AUD 165.4 million (USD 171.5 million) from AUD 164.1 million (USD 170.2 million) a year ago.

But gross profit in the period fell -1.5% to...

India – Staffing federations urges swift changes to labour laws

The Indian Staffing Federation (ISF) has called on the government to speed up the process of fostering “healthier, relevant, implementable and easy to understand labour laws.” This follows a massive two-day strike which is likely to cause a “substantial” loss to the Indian economy, the federation...

China – Hiring in finance sector to become more selective

Foreign banks in China are projected to put a halt on wage growth and become more selective when creating new jobs, according to a new survey by recruitment firm Robert Walters. Hiring levels in the country’s capital Beijing are expected to remain low in particular.

But the survey found that senior...

China – Online recruitment boosts 51 Job Inc. revenue

Chinese HR provider 51job Inc. (JOBS:NSQ) increased fourth-quarter revenue by +7% to RMB 397.3 million (USD 63.8 million), exceeding the company’s expectations. Revenue from online recruitment services was up +10% to RMB 237.9 million (US$38.2 million).

The firm said that weaker hiring demand had impacted...