JobStreet.com releases its Job Outlook Report for the 1Q12, Job Outlook Index rises

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KUCHING: The Job Outlook Index, as measured by JobStreet.com, looks at the expectations of job growth in the industries on a quarterly basis. A higher index indicates that the industries are creating jobs and employment, while a lower index means the reverse with lesser jobs on offer.

According to a press release, for the first quarter of 2012 (1Q12), the Job Outlook Index registered 55 points, which was a six point rise from 49 points of the preceding quarter.

For job growth in the 1Q12, 43 per cent of the respondents felt that the general job outlook would be slightly better or much better for the next 12 months, which constituted a rise from the previous quarter’s 31 per cent who answered similarly.

Another 29 per cent said it would remain the same, while the remaining 28 per cent felt it could be slightly worse or much worse.

In comparison with 1Q11, 43 per cent of the respondents forecasted that the job outlook would be slightly better or much better. However there was a 12-point drop from 55 per cent who answered similarly last year.

Another 29 per cent felt that the job outlook would remain the same for the 1Q12 which was the same with 2011.

The remaining 28 per cent of respondents stated that employment prospects would get slightly worse or much worse, a hike of 12-point from the 16 per cent who had the similar sentiment in the same period last year.

On the real state of the national economy 31 per cent of the respondents felt that the national economy was already slowing down. Another 28 per cent responded that it had remained stagnant.

Another 18 per cent felt confident that the national economy was picking up and the remaining 24 per cent were still uncertain of our national economic state.

With regards to hiring cctivities, companies were still adopting a more cautious job outlook and 44 per cent of the respondents said that their companies would be hiring less people and replacing or filling essential positions only in the next 12 months. Another nine per cent said that they would not be conducting any hiring exercises in the foreseeable future.

While 25 per cent would be maintaining the hiring rate, 23 per cent said that their companies would be expanding their businesses hence hiring more people.

Top specialisations that were sought for most industries was jobseekers with skills in marketing and business development or sales marketing, followed by people with expertise in customer service and computer and information technology (software).

Also required were people with mechanical engineering skills and human resources background. A specialisation that had entered the top 10 list was electrical engineering.