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Andrea Zavadszky

DECEMBER IS traditionally a low season for job seekers because many decision makers are out of town. As the end of the year approaches, vacancies are usually few and far between and advertisements are rare.

Last year, however, there was no let-up in job ads or the work of recruitment agencies. The Classified Post had three sections with 72 pages of ads on December 18 and early bookings poured in for this month.

Agencies were busy preparing for another buoyant year and forecasting sustained growth in the employment market.

'The past nine to 12 months have been idyllic,' said Dan Chavasse, managing director of international recruitment firm Michael Page.

'It was an outstanding year for recruitment. There were a lot of candidates wanting to change jobs because they had been in the same positions for several years, and lots of companies wanting to hire.'

A Nielsen Media survey commissioned by the South China Morning Post found a total of 229,749 positions were advertised in Hong Kong's six major recruitment publications last year.

There was an unusually even spread of jobs throughout the year, with 60,620 and 60,592 posts available in the first and third quarters and 57,352 and 51,185 positions on offer in the second and fourth quarters.

Trade and manufacturing-related industries produced the most openings, many of them either China-based or requiring travel to the mainland.

Trading companies advertised 31,194 jobs from January to December, with the second half being the busiest. Manufacturing had 24,839 openings and saw recruitment activities peak in the third quarter. Clothing and fashion placed third with 23,028 jobs, followed by industrial/engineering, which advertised a total of 22,337 positions.

According to the SCMP/Nielsen Media survey, the latter two sectors were most active in the first quarter, with engineering recruitment also bouncing back strongly in the third.

Other industries performing well included the banking, finance and investment sectors, which recorded 11,786 jobs last year, with most hiring taking place in the first and third quarters.

Adecco Personnel sales and marketing director Christine Pace said: 'In 2003, headcounts were frozen by a lot of banks, but last year they started to hire again.'

More than 11,000 jobs were advertised in the retail sector, which greatly benefited from the consistently high numbers of inbound Chinese tourists. Hotels and restaurants also made the most of the tourist boom to create more than 6,000 jobs.

While information technology and other technology sectors are not major employers in overall terms, they made a comeback.

St George's Group chief executive Nigel Cumberland said: 'There has not been this level of investment [in IT] since the dotcom boom.'

He said the upgrading of trading, compliance and other systems in banks had provided renewed momentum.

The category of 'most advertised' types of job across all the main sectors was led by merchandising and purchasing, which accounted for 32,943 positions last year and was consistently No1 each quarter.

The SCMP/Nielsen Media survey showed that sales and business development provided 24,562 jobs, clerical and secretarial positions reached 22,419 and management ranked fourth with 20,720 openings.

There were 15,804 jobs available in accounting, with average demand showing little fluctuation from quarter to quarter. Employers were fighting for good staff.

Lai Kam-tong, vice-president of the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resources Management and co-chairman of the employee relations and remuneration committees, said salaries in accountancy had risen by 13.8 per cent, the only sector to see such a marked increase.

'The Big Four have been able to get new business in China and firms are fighting for professionals who understand the Sarbanes-Oxley Act,' Mr Lai said.

After several years of stagnation, the marketing sector, with 8,278 jobs, was once again active.

Experts have repeatedly warned the economy could slow this year.

Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce chief economist David O'Rear said: 'There is a slowdown in trade between China and the United States and this will continue. We have high oil prices and rising interest rates. Generally the external side is looking soft.'

However, coming off a successful year, many observers believe that current growth is sustainable.

Several reports show general optimism in the business community and, in a recent survey by international accounting firm Grant Thornton, owners of medium-sized businesses in Hong Kong were rated only behind Singapore as the most optimistic in Asia, with 60 per cent positive about the economy.

Expectations on hiring have also improved, with 27 per cent of employers saying they will recruit new staff this year, compared with 16 per cent this time last year.

This closely corresponds with the Manpower Outlook Survey published last month, in which 30 per cent of employers said they expected to hire in the first quarter, up from 21 per cent a year ago.

Encouragingly, only 4 per cent of companies plan to cut headcount, down from 9 per cent in late 2003 but slightly up on the 2 per cent noted in the second half of last year.

A Michael Page survey of six industries and 621 respondents indicates that most companies will focus on new projects this year and expect to recruit.

Mr Chavasse said: 'We will not see the same year-on-year growth [as in 2004] since we started from a very low base. But we could see 15per cent to 20 per cent growth in jobs advertised in the  Classified Post.'

Ms Pace said growth should continue, even if the rate slowed.

'In terms of jobs, it remains very vibrant and there is still strong demand,' she said.

In most industries, expansion is China-led and businesses are confident this will continue, even if trade with the United States dips.

'We rely less on North America for white-collar job opportunities in Hong Kong than five years ago and the China market can now help,' Mr Chavasse said.

This refers to jobs created in Hong Kong, such as those in trading or which have resulted from retail and tourism growth, and to jobs in China which require international experience and offer good opportunities for Hong Kong talent.

The Michael Page survey shows that more than 50 per cent of Hong Kong businesses will focus resources on the mainland in the next 12 months. This will create more job opportunities for Hong Kong people, especially in accounting, law, engineering, marketing and general management.



Recruiters gear up for another flourishing year in the jobs market