Australia – Government shuts down ‘jobdobber’ hotline (The Guardian)

The Albanese government in Australia ended its “jobdobber” hotline that enabled employers to report job seekers who turned down work or submitted inappropriate job applications, The Guardian reported. Few cases of noncompliance were found among job seekers, according to The Guardian. The controversial...

Japan – S-Pool responds to media criticism of its rental farms

S-Pool Inc. (2471: TYO), a Tokyo-based staffing provider, issued a statement in response to reports in the Kyodo News and other newspapers criticizing farming operations run by its S-Pool Plus division to provide employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

The rental farms employ people with...

New Zealand – Job ads fall by 13% year over year in January: Seek

Nationally, job ads in New Zealand were down 13% year over year in January, according to job board operator Seek.

Among the top 10 industries by job ad volume, the biggest year-over-year declines in jobs were in construction, down 27%; “information and communication technology,” down 26%; and engineering,...

Japan – UT Group revenue up 12.4% in first three quarters of fiscal year

UT Group Go. Ltd. (2146:TYO), a Tokyo-based engineering and technical staffing firm, on 6 February reported revenue rose 12.4% year over year in the first nine months of fiscal year 2023, which ran from 1 April 2021 through 31 December 2022.

Gross margin improved, and the company reported record high...

Japan – Average overtime hours increase to 22.2 per month (Nippon.com)

Japanese businesspeople worked 22.2 hours of overtime on average per month last year, up from 20.8 in 2021, according to data from Persol Career, Nippon.com reported. The most-recent survey included 15,000 respondents. Assistant-type positions posted the lowest overtime hours, while occupations with...

Singapore – Group to work on workers compensation program for injured self-employed workers on work service platforms

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower set up a “Platform Workers Injury Compensation Network” to help implement a work injury compensation regime for self-employed platform workers. The move follows the government’s acceptance of all 12 recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Platform Workers...

Indonesia – BetterPlace acquires blue-collar staffing platform MyRobin

BetterPlace, a Bengaluru, India-based staffing and human resource management software provider, acquired a majority stake in MyRobin, a Jakarta, Indonesia-based digital staffing platform that provides blue-collar workers.

The acquisition amount was not disclosed.

“We are thrilled to welcome MyRobin to...

Australia – PeopleIN signs memorandum of understanding with state training provider

PeopleIN Ltd. (PPE:ASX), a staffing firm based in Brisbane, Australia, reported it signed a memorandum of understanding with TAFE Queensland that will enable it to provide employment placement services for TAFE Queensland’s 125,000 graduates and TAFE Queensland to provide upskilling opportunities for...

Australia – Ashley Services completes acquisition of Owen Pacific

Ashley Services Group Ltd. (ASH:ASX) announced Monday that it completed its acquisition of Owen Pacific Workforce Pty. Ltd. The deal had been announced on Friday.

Ashley Services, a labour hire firm based in Sydney, Australia, previously reported it was buying a 100% stake in Owen Pacific for between...

Hong Kong and China – Gravitas acquires Hong Kong and Shenzhen business of Hamlyn Williams

Gravitas Recruitment Group (Global) Ltd. acquired Hamlyn Williams’ Hong Kong and Shenzhen operations. London-based Gravitas aims to strengthen its presence in the Asia markets with the deal.

“This acquisition is an important step in our ambitious growth plan, and we are confident that together we...