News South Asia

Malaysians remain confident in the job market

According to the Executive Briefing by Scotiabank, the Malaysian economy continues to record solid growth, and despite the deceleration of growth we are likely to see real GDP growth averaging 5% year over year in 2015-17. Economic activity is driven by domestic demand, and despite the GST implementation in April 2015, private consumption is underpinned by rising incomes and sound employment conditions. Investment is supported by private sector outlays in manufacturing and services sectors as well as public infrastructure-related expenditures. This should compensate for the investment downturn in the oil and gas sector and weaker export sector performance.
 
“This positive outlook for the Malaysia job market was reflected in the percentage of employees who have changed jobs within the past six months. 43% of Malaysian employees moved jobs in the second half of 2015, compared to Hong Kong (35%) and Singapore (26%).
 
“According to our Workmonitor results, the highest percentage of job change was seen in the transportation (67%) and food product manufacturing (63%) industries,” added Ryan Carroll.
 
Job satisfaction has also increased by 4% year-over-year, with 75% of employees expressing satisfaction with their job. The chemical manufacturing industry in particular came out tops, with 88% of employees expressing high levels of job satisfaction.
 
“Malaysia has been stepping up its R&D and manufacturing capabilities in the life science industry in an effort to grow itself as a hub for the Asia-Pacific region. Employers’ efforts in attracting and retaining the best talent in the industry may be attributed to the high levels of satisfaction,” noted Ryan Carroll.