Seek’s index of advertised salaries in Australia is rising, but March’s 4.2% year-over-year increase in the index marks the slowest rise in 18 months. When compared to February, March’s index level was up 0.2%. March was the third month in a row in which Seek’s Advertised Salary Index for Australia posted a month-over-month increase of 0.2%. “The peak of advertised salary growth is in the past,” Seek Senior Economist Matt Cowgill said in a press release. “We’ve now had six months in which the SEEK [Advertised Salary Index] has grown at just 0.2% or 0.3% month on month.” Still, advertised salar ..read more

The average hourly wage for temp workers rose in March in three major Japanese metro areas tracked by Dip Co. Ltd. Those areas were Kanto, Tokai and Kansai. The average hourly wage rose to JPY 1,605 (USD 10.37) in March, an increase of JPY 46, or 3.0%, from the same time last year and an increase of JPY 30 compared to February, a 1.9% increase. Here’s a breakdown of average hourly wage growth by metro area: Kanto. The average hourly wage in March of JPY 1,681 (USD 10.86) was up JPY 25 year over year and up JPY 29 compared to February. Tokai. The average hourly wage in March of JPY 1,459 (USD ..read more

Young job seekers in Japan are becoming choosier over where they work as the number of workers declines, and companies are stepping up their recruitment efforts, including putting more of a focus on work-life balance, Nikkei Asia reported. “Before, companies were the ones choosing from a large batch of applicants, but now students are also selecting the companies, and the asymmetry in that relationship is weakening,” Yosuke Hasegawa, a researcher at Mynavi Career Research Lab, told Nikkei Asia. “More companies take care in listening to applicants’ wishes regarding the kind of jobs they want to ..read more

South Korea is increasingly turning to foreign labour as its population shrinks, The Korea Herald reported. Kim Young-Jung, president of the Korea Information Service, told the newspaper that foreign labour is now concentrated in unskilled jobs, but the country will hire more highly skilled workers in the future. “Korea is getting more and more in need of all kinds of labour,” he said. “The manpower shortage in Korea is not necessarily limited to manual or nonprofessional labor, but highly educated workers are also needed ..read more

Freelancer Ltd. (FLN:ASX) today reported Gross Marketplace Volume (GMV) in Q1 2024 of AUD 227.1 million (USD 147.6 million), down 23.8% over the year. GMV represents the underlying transaction value between third parties which is the basis for Freelancer's revenue, i.e. the value of services performed (Freelancer); goods shipped (Loadshift) or goods / services exchanged (Escrow). At the same time, Freelancer group net cash receipts stood at AUD 13.2 million (USD 8.6 million), down 3.6% over the year. The group had positive net operating cash flow of AUD 1.0 million (USD 0.6 million) for Q1 202 ..read more

New Zealand job advertisements on the job board Seek plunged by 27% in March 2024 compared to March 2023. The year-on-year fall of 27% was unchanged from the 27% annual fall seen in February 2024. Meanwhile, applications per job ad, which are recorded with a one-month lag, remained steady in February, the first time these levels have not risen in five months. By region and on an annual basis, all regions saw a decline. Wellington recorded the steepest fall at 38%. Taranaki followed this at 30%. Hawkes Bay saw the smallest decrease at 7%. By industry, Professional Services roles recorded some o ..read more

Singapore's workforce has made flexible work a business imperative, as 49% said they would leave jobs that require them to work in the office more often, according to the latest Randstad Workmonitor survey. The survey found that Gen Zers are the most likely to feel this way, with 69% agreeing that they would also leave jobs that require them to work in the office more often. This was followed by 47% for millennials, 45% for baby boomers and 44% for Gen X. At the same time, 42% of Singaporeans would not accept a job that is too inflexible. This is especially prominent amongst Gen Z employees, w ..read more

The Economic Times reports that staffing and recruitment firms in India are witnessing a pickup in contractual hiring in the sector after almost a year of subdued demand. A pickup in contractual hiring often indicates improvements in the demand environment for IT services providers. According to experts, this is typically followed by hiring for permanent roles. Amid a slowdown in tech spending by clients in markets like the US and Europe, Indian IT companies had cut down on hiring and, in some cases, resorted to layoffs. This has reduced their bench strength, or employees who are not assigned ..read more

Ramssol Group, a Malaysia-based HR solutions provider, reported revenue today of MYR 14.4 million (USD 3.0 million) for the first quarter ended 31 March 2024, an increase of 123.4%. (MYR thousands) Q1 2024 Q1 2023 Change Q1 2024 (USD millions) Revenue 14,423 6,454 123.4% 3.0 Profit before tax 4,534 2,010 125.5% 0.9 Profit for the period 4,104 2,005 104.7% 0.8 The Board of Directors of Ramssol also announced that Liew Yu Hoe, the acting chief operating officer has been re-designated to chief operating officer of Ramssol Group Berhad with effect from 23 April 2024. The g ..read more

Approximately 70% of companies in Japan will implement pay-scale increases in fiscal 2024, reports the Japan Times, citing a survey by the Finance Ministry. The survey was conducted from March to April, receiving answers from around 1,100 companies throughout Japan. According to the survey, the proportion of companies planning to raise their pay-scales stood at 70.7%, up by 6.3% from the previous year. The proportion of such companies rose 8.8% to 63.1% among small and medium-sized firms, outpacing a 3.2% increase among large companies. Meanwhile, companies planning to implement pay-scale incr ..read more