Need a Job? Look to Asia as Hiring Set to Rise
While the labor market continues to look fragile in the United States, employment growth in Asian countries appears to be robust, a recent survey showed.
Employers in China, Hong Kong and Singapore expect to continue hiring for a fourth straight quarter, according to a report by recruitment outfit Hudson.
Hiring expectations were strongest in China and Hong Kong, with the banking and finance sector showing the highest hiring potential across all three markets, Mike Game, CEO of Hudson Asia said on CNBC.
Results from the report found 65 percent of Chinese employers, predominantly in Beijing and Shanghai, expected headcount growth to be at its highest level since the first quarter of 2006.
65 percent of Hong Kong decision makers also expected to add headcount in the July-Sept. quarter.
In Singapore, 57 percent of the employers polled said they would expand their workforce, marking the strongest increase since the first quarter of 2001.
1,500 decision makers were surveyed in The Hudson Report.
Salaries Set to Rise
The survey also found that employers in all three markets were willing to increase salaries to keep top talent.
"Retention of good talent is really a major issue this time", Game noted.
"60 percent of the employers surveyed in China (were) prepared to undertake counter offers of more than 10 percent."
The comparable figure in Hong Kong and Singapore is around 40 percent.
The report also suggested that hiring was not confined to those living in Asia, as many employers were willing to look beyond regional shores for top talent.
There has been strong interest from foreign talent in the last 18 months, especially from Western countries, with many "prepared to move to Asia for opportunities," Game added.
"There's no doubt about it that candidates regard Asia very positively. And there (are) more push factors...pushing them out of the Western markets, into Asia."
