Recruitment activity in Hong Kong picks up after slow start

There was year-on-year growth in job ads as retail services benefited from an influx of tourists from the Mainland.

According to the Robert Walters Asia Job Index, recruitment momentum continued throughout the second quarter in Hong Kong following particularly high volumes of job advertisements at the end of the first quarter.

“The slight slow down experienced at the beginning of April coincided with the effects of the Japanese earthquake, negative US economic data and the implementation of monetary tightening policies in China, following which levels began to increase in May and June,” said Robert Walters.

Hong Kong continued to see year-on-year growth in job advertisements with sectors such as retail services -- which saw 27% sales growth in May -- benefiting from an influx of tourists from China. Robert Walters added that demand for logistics and operational roles also increased during the quarter by 21% as export levels remained high. Meanwhile growing property prices which are currently 5% above their 1997 peak have resulted in an increased demand for associated roles.

“Recruitment activity in Hong Kong got off to a slow start at the beginning of April following weak US and European economic data. Despite this, growth over the course of the latter quarter indicates that confidence is high, both at a company and consumer level,” noted Matthew Bennett, Managing Director of Robert Walters Hong Kong.

The Robert Walters Asia Job Index tracks advertisement volumes for professional positions across the leading job boards and national newspapers in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.