India – Quess Corp. buys remaining 30% stake in customer life cycle management firm

Quess Corp. Ltd. (QUESS:NSI) acquired the 30% stake in Conneqt Business Solutions Ltd. that it did not own from Tata Sons Private Ltd. for INR 2.08 billion (USD 27.8 million). Quess, a staffing firm based in Bengaluru, India, previously acquired a 70% stake in Conneqt from Tata in January. The deal makes...

Australia – Freelancer reports gross payment volume up 39% in Q1

Freelancer Ltd. (ASX: FLN), which operates the Freelancer.com online staffing platform, reported Monday that gross payment volume rose 39.0% in the first quarter to USD 192.9 million, a record for the company.

Meanwhile, group net cash receipts also reached a record, rising 32.1% year over year to USD...

India – Wipro revenue rises 3.4% in fiscal fourth quarter; key markets growing

India-based IT consulting and business process outsourcing firm Wipro Ltd. (NYSE: WIT) reported revenue rose 3.4% in its fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31. Profit for the period also increased.

CEO and Managing Director Thierry Delaporte said all Wipro’s key markets are now growing on a year-over-year...

Australia – Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rises in March

Australia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 5.6% in March 2021, 0.4% higher than a year ago, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

At the same time, the number of unemployed people increased by 62,100 over the year to March 2021.

When compared to the previous month,...

China – Hiring demand in China increases in 2020 (Xinhua)

Hiring demand in China saw an uptick in 2019, bucking a global downward trend amid the pandemic, reports Xinhua, citing data from professional networking platform LinkedIn. In 2020, demand for recruitment by Chinese enterprises increased 26% from 2019, compared with a drop of 35% globally. Approximately...

India – Majority of firms will give salary hikes in 2021 (Business Standard)

Over half, or 59%, of companies in India are intending to give salary increments to their employees in 2021 as the economy moves to a recovery path amid the pandemic, reports the Business Standard, citing data from staffing firm Genius Consultants. The planned salary increments will range between 5%-10%...

New Zealand – Seek job ads soar 55% in March

New job ads posted on the job board Seek New Zealand jumped by 55% in March 2021 when compared to March 2020, the month that saw the Covid-19 pandemic begin to impact the jobs market.

Janet Faulding, General Manager, SEEK NZ, said, “March 2021 paints a very different picture to March 2020, when the...

Singapore – Employees say not enough is being done to upskill them

More employers in Singapore say that sending their workers for training will help their businesses to develop stronger resilience during this downturn. This was 93% in 2021 compared to 84% in 2020. However, a report from the National Trades Union Congress’s LearningHub states that not all of them are...

India – Urban and national unemployment rates climb following further restrictions (LiveMint)

India's urban unemployment rate climbs to almost 10% following curbs and partial lockdowns in several states, reports LiveMint, citing data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. The urban unemployment rate climbed to 9.81% in the week ended 11 April against 7.72% in the week ended 28 March and...

Singapore – People with disabilities to get more targeted help for jobs and mobility (Straits Times)

People with disabilities will be given more targeted help to secure and stay in employment as well as move about Singapore on their own, reports the Straits Times. These plans are built on 21 recommendations by two work groups on issues such as barrier-free accessibility, digital inclusion, bringing...