Looking for a new job is never easy, but the Malaysian Employers Federation said things will be even worse next year.
Photo: The Malaysian Reserve
According to chief economist of Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid, employers will be exercising more caution when hiring new staff due to the challenging economic outlook come 2020.
They are all afraid that operating costs will increase. While understandable, this is pretty grim news - the market is saturated with underpaid fresh grads as it is!
“They won’t simply cut their labour force as they could lose out their competitive edge, but they will be very selective. Employers are now looking for those who can multitask,” Mohd Afzanizam also told Free Malaysia Today. This is, sadly, not new at all. Many companies have been practicing this for years now, with employees made to learn and perform tasks outside of their job description.
Afzanizam added that 2020 would be an employers market, as they will have then have the luxury of selecting the best candidate for the job. Desperate job seekers will be aplenty, giving employers the upper hand.
He also noted that in the third quarter of 2019, there was a “tepid” growth in terms of wages and this trend was estimated to go on.
According to executive director of the Malaysian Employers Federation, Shamsuddin Bardan, job vacancies next year are expected to be only for entry or low-level positions.
Fresh graduates will face difficulties in being employed (as they always have) because their competition will now be against other graduates who have been jobless for the past year. Sure sounds like a real struggle.
Shamsuddin said he expects retrenchments, especially for those in higher level positions, to continue. Meanwhile, in line with the times, financial institutions would proceed with the digitisation process, resulting in even more reduction in terms of manpower. Bleak thought, but soon, we may all be replaced by machines and robots.
Our advice - quickly brush up those resumes and start sending them out!
By: Celestine Foo
