The number of job adverts for professional roles across Asia, including finance, rose in the first three months of 2012 and Malaysia's growth was a stand-out feature.

The number of job advertisements for professional roles in the Asia-Pacific market expanded by 4 per cent between the final quarter of 2012 and the first three months of this year, with Malaysia proving a hotspot, according to the Robert Walters Asia Job Index report.

Job advertisements rose by 20.6 per cent from January to March 2013; all territories, apart from Singapore (-0.7 per cent) showed a rise in recruitment advertising in comparison to Q4 2012.

While the report did not break down its findings to identify wealth management trends, the broader data may be indicative of movements in this area.

“The overall increase in job advertising numbers is a positive sign of improved business confidence in the region. However, Singapore was an exception with a slight decrease on the previous quarter, which can be attributed to fewer businesses choosing to hub in the country due to the strength of Singapore dollar,” Mark Ellwood, managing director, Southeast Asia, Robert Walters, said.

“t is also important to remember that the Chinese New Year holidays would have had a depreciating effect on advertising activity, so Q2’s advertising figures should give a clearer indicator of recruitment demand,” he added.

Malaysia showed the largest rise in job advertisements from January to March this year, up by 24 per cent, followed by China, at 23.8 per cent; Hong Kong at 17.4 per cent, and all the way down to Japan, at a relatively anaemic 1.6 per cent, the report showed.

Economic data suggested that confidence improved among Asia’s main economies in the first quarter, the report said, citing China’s reported gross domestic product growth figure of 7.5 per cent. “The retail sector continued to be a strong area for

job advertising, with advert numbers increasing in Japan (8.5 per cent between Q4 2012 and Q1 2012), Malaysia (18.3 per cent) and Hong Kong (10.9 per cent) following improved consumer sentiment,” the report said.

“Malaysia continued to benefit from its cost-effective and ever-improving business environment. The Malaysian government has maintained its policy of infrastructure investment to attract more international corporations to hub in the country and encourage Malaysian nationals working abroad to return to help boost the domestic skills set,” the report continued.

“Demand for property management experts continued to grow across the region, in keeping with new city developments and growing urban populations. Hong Kong and Singapore have witnessed significant increases in property prices in the recent quarters and developers continue to prosper from investors backing current and new developments,” it said.

Human resources and compliance In the compliance, risk and human resources sectors, the report noted that job advertisements in Malaysia grew by 13.5 per cent compared to the previous quarter, which is the biggest increase in the region. This is largely attributed to the positive sentiment towards a growing economy and business needs, it said.

Roles within human resources grew by 24.9 per cent as more companies looked to bring in talent with specialist skill sets, subsequently expanding internal HR resources. Adverts for legal professionals grew by 19.9 per cent with the demand coming from both law firms and corporations strengthening their operations in the country.

Financial services continued to be the source of demand for jobs, with adverts for accounting and finance, compliance and risk roles up 24.9 per cent in Malaysia. This reflects the growing trend of financial services companies choosing to set up in Malaysia, where the government continues to invest in attracting local and foreign businesses, the report added.

Robert Walters specialises in recruitment at a mid-senior executive level.