Malaysia recorded a 21% year-on-year growth in e-recruitment activity in December 2022 when compared to the same month a year ago, according to the foundit Insights Tracker (fit), formerly published as Monster Employment Index (MEI).

The company Monster APAC & Middle East was rebranded as foundit last year.

The 21% annual growth is attributed to the country easing travel restrictions and opening its borders.

The Index stood at 76 points, with 3% month-on-month growth. According to the index, the job market has shown noteworthy growth month over month, projecting a continuous demand in the job market. Moreover, over the last three months, there has been a 10% growth in hiring across sectors, indicating a persistent demand in the labour market.

The retail industry experienced a 65% increase in hiring activity year-over-year, primarily due to robust retail sales and an upward trend in consumer sentiment.

On the other hand, the Index saw a year-on-year hiring dip in IT, Telecom/ISP, and BPO/ITES by 13%.

Online recruitment surpassed the year-ago level in 8 of the 9 occupation groups monitored by the tracker, with Hospitality & Travel leading the charge at (212%). This is due to the opening of land and air borders as the country has completely eased out of the Covid-19 pandemic and opened its land borders with Singapore. 

Among all monitored occupational groups, customer service is the only one to have registered a decrease (-17%) in December 2022.

The foundit Insights Tracker is a comprehensive monthly analysis of online job posting activity conducted by foundit.