India – Staffing firm BigLeap raises over $400,000 in funding (Times of India)

India-based HR, payroll and staffing firm BigLeap said it has raised INR 50 million (USD 482,725) in debt funding from roller skating athlete and Arjuna Award (sports award) winner Anup Kumar Yama and others for its BigLeap.AI initiative, an HR product to ease job search experience. According to the...

Asia Pacific – North Korea to replace 10,000 workers dispatched to China (Radio Free Asia)

North Korea is planning to repatriate 10,000 workers dispatched to earn foreign currency in China but who were then stranded by the coronavirus pandemic, replacing them with younger recruits, sources in China told Radio Free Asia. One of North Korea's chief foreign currency sources is to dispatch workers...

Australia – Minimum wage rises 2.5% but increases for pandemic-hit sectors delayed

Australia’s Fair Work Commission last week ordered a 2.5% pay increase through an annual minimum wage case.

The pay rise will raise the annual minimum wage to AUD 40,175.20 and the hourly rate to AUD 20.33 and will also flow through to those who are award-dependent, lifting the wages of one in four...

Philippines – Online recruitment jumps 9% in May: Monster Employment Index

Online recruitment in the Philippines increased by 9% in May 2021 when compared to May 2020, according to data from the Monster Employment Index.

The Monster Employment Index (MEI) increased to 125 in May 2021 from 115 in May 2020.

Online recruitment activity recorded an increase of 6% month-on-month....

China – WonderCV secures $5 million in funding (KrAsia)

WonderCV, a resume builder and job board, secured USD 5 million in a Series A round from GGV Capital and Joy Capital, reports KrAsia. GGV Capital has a track record in the recruitment sector, having also backed recruitment app Boss Zhipin, which recently completed an IPO in the US and has a valuation...

Japan – Thousands of companies distribute Covid-19 vaccines to workers and their families (Associated Press)

Thousands of Japanese companies began distributing Covid-19 vaccines to workers and their families on Monday in an employer-led drive reaching more than 13 million people that aims to rev up the nation’s slow vaccine rollout, reports The Associated Press. About 3,500 companies have signed up for the...

China – 51job to go private in $5.7 billion agreement

China-based job board and HR resource services provider 51job Inc. (NSDQ: JOBS), announced yesterday that it has entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger with Garnet Faith Limited to be taken private in a deal valued at approximately USD 5.7 billion.

The merged company will be acquired by...

India – IT staffing provider MRCC acquiring digital learning firm G-Cube

MRCC Group, a US-based provider of staffing and other services, announced it is acquiring G-Cube, a digital learning company based in Noida, India.

G-Cube has more than 2 million subscribers and more than 1,200 e-learning projects, according to the company.

“We are very pleased to bring the talent and...

Australia – Nearly half of employers plan to boost permanent staff levels in the next year

Almost half, or 47%, of Australian employers intend to increase permanent staff levels in the next 12 months, according to research from Hays Australia. 

 
The research found that 15% of the close to 3,500 employers surveyed also intend to increase their use of temporary or contract staff. ...

India – Hiring of gig and temp workers on the rise, but companies delay long-term contracts (The Economic Times)

Companies in India are engaging gig economy and temporary workers to meet immediate demand, but are uncertain about long-term demand and are delaying hiring of permanent staff, reports The Economic Times, citing staffing firms. India’s festival season is expected further to prop up the temporary and...