Australian recycling company and labour hire subsidiary found to have underpaid migrant workers

Vulnerable migrant workers in Australia employed to sort waste at facilities across Melbourne were underpaid almost AUD 200,000 (USD 128,389) for their work by Polytrade.

Polytrade was one of the biggest recycling companies in Victoria at the time and held waste management contracts with a number of local...

Staffing requirements in India rise 23% ahead of festival season

Staffing requirements in India rose by 23% between April and August 2023 compared with the same period last year, with close to 32,000 jobs posted in this period, reports the Hindu Business Line, citing research from Indian staffing firm Quess Corp. In line with the surge in demand for the festival season,...

Malaysia Q2 unemployment rate improves to 3.5% as employment ticks up 2.8%

Malaysia’s unemployment rate contracted year-on-year by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2023 to 3.5%, according to research from Statistics Malaysia.

The number of unemployed persons fell by 60,700 to a total of 581,400 when compared to the same quarter of the preceding year (Q2 2022: 3.9%; 642,000 persons). ...

Australian job ads slip 8.9% in July, labour market expected to gradually cool

Job advertisements in Australia decreased by 8.9% year-on-year in July 2023 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to ANZ-Indeed Job Ads data published on ANZ Bank.

The 8.9% fall is an improvement from the 10% annual fall reported in June.

ANZ-Indeed Australian job ads rose by 0.4% month-on-month in...

Majority of recruiters in India expect new or replacement hiring in the next six months (Business Today)

The majority, or 92% of surveyed recruiters in India anticipate upcoming hiring activities, encompassing new roles, replacements, or a combination of both, reports Business Today, citing research from Naukri. Nearly half of recruiters (47%) foresee a blend of new and replacement hirings, 26% anticipate...

Laos to send 2,000 workers to South Korea for higher paying jobs (Radio Free Asia)

Laos will send an additional 2,000 workers to South Korea in an agreement that gives Laotians the chance to make a much higher salary as the country continues to struggle with high inflation and unemployment, reports Radio Free Asia. New recruits will work in factories with contracts of between three...

Japan-based M3 acquires UK locum recruitment marketplace Messly

M3 Inc., a Japanese venture company, has acquired UK-based Messly, a recruitment marketplace for locum doctors.

Financial details were not disclosed.

M3, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, owns a number of firms focused on solving problems in the healthcare sector. The company operates m3.com, a specialised...

New Zealand job ads down 26% in July, all regions report slump

Job ads across New Zealand fell by 26% in July 2023 compared to July 2022, according to the latest research by Seek New Zealand.

Declines were seen across all regions monitored by Seek. The Tasman region decreased by 30% year-on-year which was the steepest fall among regions. Auckland followed with a...

Average minimum wage in Japan set to hit milestone in 2023 (Nippon)

Japan’s weighted average minimum hourly wage is set to rise above JPY 1,000 (USD 6.86) for the first time, reports Nippon, citing the Central Minimum Wages Council. The average wage will be JPY 1,002 for this fiscal year, up JPY 41 (USD 0.28) from the current JPY 961 (USD 6.59). The subcommittee’s...

Japanese firms cut down on remote working despite workers' strong demand (Straits Times)

Despite Japanese workers’ strong demand for working remotely, Japanese companies have continued to cut down on telework arrangements since the government downgraded Covid-19 to a lower-risk disease category in May, reports the Straits Times, citing research from Persol Research and Consulting, part...