Japan – SMS Co H1 revenue rises 6.9% as profits rally

SMS Co. Ltd. (2175:TYO), a recruitment firm specialising in the elder and medical care fields, reported revenue last Friday rose 6.9% in the first half of its fiscal year ended 30 September 2021.

Profit jumped by 22.7%.

Japan – Meitec H1 revenue growth driven by increase in engineers and working hours

Engineering staffing provider Meitec Corp. (9744:TYO) reported last week with revenue increasing by 8.1% in the first half ended 30 September to JPY 50.91 billion (USD 447.1 million).

H1 results

India – TeamLease Services increases stake in Avantis and renames it TeamLease RegTech

Indian staffing firm TeamLease Services announced that it is increasing its stake in Avantis Regtech, a Compliance Management firm, to 61.5%.

Along with the equity increase, the strategic partnership will be expanded by changing the name of the company and brand to TeamLease Regtech.

On August 2018, TeamLease ...

India – Info Edge invests additional $5.5 million in government training platform Adda247

India-based staffing firm Info Edge announced that it has invested a further INR 412 million (USD 5.5 million) in Metis Eduventures, owner of government training platform Adda247.

Adda247 is an education-technology company that helps students prepare for several government jobs via its multiple platforms...

Australia – UK waitress wins discrimination case over Australia’s backpacker tax (BBC News)

A UK woman has won a legal battle against Australia's so-called "backpacker tax", in a ruling that may have implications for other travellers, reports BBC News. Catherine Addy argued she was unfairly taxed on pay she earned while working as a waitress in Sydney in 2017. The tax - imposed that...

Singapore – Labour market shows improvement in Q3 as employment declines as slower pace

Singapore’s labour market performed better in Q3 2021 compared to Q2 2021, according to labour market estimates from the Ministry of Manpower.

Total employment (excluding Migrant Domestic Workers) declined in Q3 2021 (-3,400), however the decline was lower than in Q2 2021 (-16,300) as resident employment...

Singapore – Lack of time found to be main roadblock in upskilling

The top challenge employees in Singapore face when participating in training programmes is lack of time, according to a report from the National Trades Union Congress LearningHub.

While 88% of employees say that their companies and line managers are supportive of their participation in training programmes,...

India – Rise of gig economy and digitisation drives strong decline in informal economy (Times of India)

With rapid digitisation and the emergence of the gig economy following the Covid-19 pandemic, the share of the informal economy in India has fallen sharply since 2018, reports the Times of India, citing research from the State Bank of India. The share of the informal economy has fallen to 15%-20% of...

South Korea – Government to ease entry restrictions for foreign workers (The Korea Herald)

South Korea plans to gradually lift restrictions on arrivals of migrant workers prompted by the pandemic starting later this month as the country has begun to take steps to return to normalcy, reports The Korea Herald. Labour minister An Kyung-duk said, “In light of the shift to 'living with COVID-19'...

Australia – GO2 People provides operations update

GO2 People, a provider of vertically integrated recruitment and building services throughout Australia and New Zealand, published an update for the first quarter ended 30 September 2021.

Since the Skill Hire merger became effective on 1 June 2021, the company said it has been focusing on successfully...