The year 2023 will remain to be a jobseekers’ market in Southeast Asia despite a possible economic slowdown, disclosed a study carried out by SEEK, the parent company of online employment marketplaces JobStreet and JobsDB, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), and TheNetwork, a global alliance of recruitment websites.
Conducted to over 97,000 respondents in the Philippines, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, the study, titled “What Job Seekers Wish Employers Knew: Unlocking the Future of Recruitment,” found out that 33% of Filipino jobseekers are actively searching and are motivated by finding a role with higher seniority or trying out a new profession. On the other hand, 40% of respondents are not actively looking for a new job but are open to good offers including higher salary and upward career progress.
The study also found out that 74% of talent around the region are approached multiple times per year about new job opportunities while 36% are approached every month. Filipino jobseekers who receive multiple job offers per year comprised 87% while 29% of those are approached every month. This shows that talent are confident to look for jobs as majority are aware of their attractiveness to employers.
Talent are now confident in looking for jobs as 78% of them are positive and believe they have strong negotiating power, particularly in the areas of business, finance, and sales. This figure is slightly higher than the global average of 68%.
“When faced with a possible recession, the balance of power in the labor market tends to shift towards employers as hiring tightens. However, we believe the situation is different this time as many organizations in Asia are still recovering from the jobs lost during the pandemic. While hiring growth may slow down during times of uncertainty, there is no doubt that it is still a jobseekers’ market right now, and so it’s important for employers to know how to attract, recruit and retain talent,” said Peter Bithos, SEEK Asia chief executive officer.
The most coveted talent across Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore are those working in IT roles as they are frequently approached with job opportunities on a weekly and monthly basis.
Philip Gioca, country manager at JobStreet Philippines, notes that people are increasingly valuing work-life balance as most Filipino jobseekers or 73% prefer a stable job with work-life balance or the state where a person equally prioritizes the demands of one’s career and the demands of one’s personal life. However, the study found out that Filipino talent are slightly more interested in taking leadership positions and in building their own successful businesses.
Representing 46%, these jobseekers are more interested in having a hybrid setup when asked about their desired working conditions. It was followed by fully remote model as chosen by 28% of respondents. Regarding working time, talent still prefer the traditional five-day workweek.
Financial compensation or salary is the most important factor jobseekers look at first in a job offer as revealed by 46% of respondents, followed by location at 34%. When it comes to channels where talent get job opportunities, they said through personal network, recruitment platforms, and professional and social media.
