Australia, India and Singapore companies are still hiring. Here’s where the jobs are

Recession fears may be looming in Asia-Pacific, but that hasn’t stopped companies in India, Australia and Singapore from continuing their hiring spree, according to LinkedIn. 

As economies reopened after the pandemic, companies in the hospitality, retail and entertainment sectors ramped up hiring, said Feon Ang, Asia-Pacific managing director at the professional networking platform.

All three countries saw an increase in job postings on LinkedIn for jobs in the accommodation sector, such as hotels, motels, casino hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns. 

According to data collected by LinkedIn, paid job postings for careers in Australia, India and Singapore increased in June compared to a year ago, with the following sectors seeing the most growth:

1. Accommodation, up 62%
2. Retail jobs, up 46%
3. Financial services, up 25%

1. Accommodation, up 65%
2. Construction, up 40%
3. Real estate and equipment rental services, up 25%

1. Accommodation, up 15%
2. Transport and logistics, up 31%
3. Entertainment providers (businesses involved in performances, events, and exhibitions), up 100%

However, jobs in Singapore’s health care, education and construction industries were all down by more than 30%, according to LinkedIn.

Ang noted that the cutback of job postings for Singapore’s construction sector was likely due to measures introduced by the government to cool the private and residential property market. 

Although there’s an increase in hiring rates across the three countries, there was less competition among job seekers in June compared to one year ago, LinkedIn data showed.

On average, there was a more than a 50% drop in applications for paid job postings on LinkedIn in Australia, India and Singapore

“Even as job postings rise, workers are being more selective in picking their next role, and so competition for jobs on average is down,” said Ang. 

“This means that workers are in a position to demand more out of work, and have higher expectations of what they want in a job – and that’s a healthy sign,” she added. 

In both Australia and Singapore, paid job postings that offered remote work options fell.

Paid listings in Australia fell by 8% in June compared to a year ago, although sentiment for flexible working arrangements was still strong.

Opportunities that offered remote working options received two times more applications on average, according to LinkedIn.

In Singapore, paid job postings that allowed employees to work from home fell from 8% in the first quarter to 6.7% in the second quarter.

But unlike employees in Australia, LinkedIn observed that interest in flexible working arrangements seemed to be waning in Singapore.

Employers in India felt differently, according to the data.

Paid job postings in the South Asian country which offered remote work options remained relatively constant throughout the year and there wasn’t particularly more interest in jobs with remote options.

“Postings with remote options received only 1.1x more applications on average relative to their absolute share of all job postings in both quarters,” said LinkedIn.