Private sector vacancies up 4% to over 79,000 in March

Vacancies in transportation, storage, postal and courier services rose 18%.

The total number of vacancies in the private sector rose 4% YoY or 2,700 to 79,580 people in March whilst total employment increased 0.2% or 6,900 individuals, reveals a survey by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).

Vacancies have increased in industries such as transportation, storage, postal and courier services which rose 18%, closely followed by a 17% increase in education. Vacancies in the residential care and social work services sector as well as the professional and business services industry hit 17% and 6% respectively

Also read: Jobless rate still flat at 2.8% in February-April

On the other hand,, vacancies for industries such as import and export trade; real estate; and information and communications dropped 11%, 5%, and 5% respectively over the same period.

Meanwhile, the marginal employment increase was mainly seen in the accommodation services which saw employment rise by 6.6%. Employment figures in the human health services, information and communications and financial and insurance sectors also rose by 4.3%, 3.4% and 3.2% respectively. On the other hand, employment rates decreased mainly in the industries of construction sites 11% and 3.7% in the import and export trade.