MALAYSIA'S JOB MARKET STABILISES; NO SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN MEDIAN SALARIES

Malaysia's job market is now stabilising, with median salaries across most sectors reporting no substantial changes from the previous year, said online employment platform, JobStreet.

According to its latest Salary Guide 2023, JobStreet said the computer and Information Technology (IT) industry saw the highest median salary growth, with a 28% increase to RM4,800 from RM3,750 previously.

Computer and IT specialists also have the highest median salary among all specialisations at RM6,000.

JobStreet Malaysia managing director Vic Sithasanan said Malaysia's heightened focus on digital transformation initiatives, spurred by the government's ongoing push in this area, was likely the reason for the surge in demand for IT professionals. 

"However, it's also clear from the layoffs impacting major tech companies around the world earlier this year that this growth may not be sustainable in the long run.

“Ideally, educational reforms should be implemented to lay a solid foundation to produce more skilled IT specialists in the long-term,” he said in a statement.

While median salary levels were consistent year-on-year (y-o-y), the rising cost of living remained a concern, thus there was an increased focus on salaries among today's jobseekers, said Sithanasan.

He also noted that finding and hiring top talents continued to be a challenge for companies, particularly for highly specialised or hard-to-fill roles. 

“Over the past year, we recorded a 10% increase in job applications via JobStreet Malaysia, indicating that more Malaysians are on the lookout for new opportunities, and businesses will need to find ways to stand out as employers of choice in order to hire and retain quality talent,” he said.

Meanwhile, JobStreet said despite a lower number of computer and IT jobs advertised, compensation for entry-level, senior executive and manager-level positions all recorded y-o-y increases, highlighting the strong demand for entry-level IT professionals and driving up salaries.

Computer and IT functions were the highest-paid specialisations, and the corporate computer and IT industry saw a high 57.4% salary growth - far surpassing the second-highest salary growth which was recorded by the communication service industry (7.7%), it said. 

Conversely, small and medium enterprise professionals specialising in computer and IT experienced a 10.3% salary decrease.

The manufacturing industry is also experiencing some growth, posting the highest number of job ads for the second consecutive year (+12.6%) in 2023, in line with the industry's steady, ongoing expansion, although salaries offered were mostly unchanged.

 Meanwhile, the food and beverage (F&B) sector recorded salary drops across all position levels, except for senior managers. 

JobStreet said senior executives in the F&B industry experienced the most significant salary drop  (-18.8%) compared to all other positions in other industries, while entry-level positions start at barely above minimum wage at RM1,600. 

Given the industry's high turnover rates and the challenges employers are facing in hiring quality candidates, the decline in compensation may be a crucial factor that businesses may need to reconsider in their recruitment strategies, it said.

Conducted by JobStreet, the Salary Guide analyses full-time monthly salary data extracted from JobStreet ads in the internal database.