Singapore – Government seeks to attract ‘high-calibre’ foreign workers under new visa system (Bloomberg)

Singapore is seeking to attract ‘higher-calibre’ foreign workers under a new points-based visa system, as part of the government’s broader push to boost local employment while positioning itself as a global city, reports Bloomberg, citing a statement from Manpower Minister Tan See Leng. The revised...

South Korea – SaraminHR revenue jumps 34% with growth led by matching platform business

SaraminHR, a South Korea-based hiring platform reported revenue on Tuesday of KRW 129 billion (USD 106.4 million) for the full year 2021, up 34% compared to the previous year.

The revenue of KRW 129 billion (USD 106.4 million) is a record-high performance for the group and the first time it exceeds KRW...

New Zealand – Seek job ads rise 40% in February

Job ads on job board Seek New Zealand were up by 40% in February 2022 when compared to February 2021 and up 31% when compared to February 2019.

When compared to the previous month, job ads remained steady with no change. Applications per job ad fell by 9% from January, notably outside the major cities,...

Australia – Contract Watch: Freelancer wins task orders with NASA and US government departments

Australia-based Freelancer announced it has won three task orders with two US Government Departments including the US Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and NASA.

The task orders were won under the USD 175 million NASA Open Innovation Services 2 (NOIS2) joint...

China – Government aims to create 13 million jobs in 2022 to reverse slump (The Independent)

China's government hopes to generate as many as 13 million new jobs this year to help reverse an economic slump but faces “many difficulties and challenges," Premier Li Keqiang said. According to The Independent, forecasters say the Chinese government is likely to struggle to meet its official...

World – Recruit suspends business in Russia, Indeed disables Russian website

Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd., one of the world’s largest staffing firms, announced its operating companies have suspended business in Russia and added new content moderation procedures in light of the Ukraine war. This includes Indeed and Glassdoor.

Indeed has disabled its Russian website and removed all...

Japan – Career Design Centre upgrades Q2 and full year forecast

Tokyo-based HR services provider Career Design Center Co. Ltd. (2410:TYO) yesterday revised its forecast for the second quarter ended 31 March 2022.

The company had previously forecasted revenue of JPY 7.11 billion (USD 60.11 million) with an operating profit of JPY 401 million (USD 3.39 million) and...

Asia Pacific – Covid-19 erased 9.3 million jobs across Southeast Asia in 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic pushed 4.7 million people in Southeast Asia into extreme poverty in 2021, as 9.3 million jobs disappeared, compared with a baseline no-Covid scenario, according to research from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

According to the research, the omicron wave could cut the region’s...

Australia – Job ads up 8.4% in February as omicron wave recedes

Job advertisements in Australia increased by 8.4% in February 2022 following a 0.3% drop in January.

Job ads were also 46.3% above the January 2020 levels. The total number of job ads stood at 228,170.

ANZ Senior Economist, Catherine Birch said, “ANZ job ads rebounded by 8.4% month-on-month in February...

Singapore – Data analysis and digital marketing rank as top job roles employers are looking for

More than half of employers in Singapore, or 54%, are hiring for job roles in data analysis, according to research from the National Trades Union Congress’ LearningHub.

The research included a survey of over 650 working professionals from Singapore in December 2021. The respondents include both employers...