A dose of positivity
Do you feel overwhelmed by negative news headlines these days?
We all know that Covid-19 has impacted everyone and the world is still far away from a full recovery. However let’s not fall prey to sensationalistic journalism. Negative news will always dominate headlines, simply because they sell more.
Today I’d like to inject a dose of positivity.
Part of what we do at GrabJobs is to run an online job board. In the past month, we’ve seen some very encouraging data that shows we’re on the path to recovery. I believe the worst is over and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter.
While April and May data showed the lowest job activity seen in years, June saw a big rebound for both Singapore and Indonesia. We’ve outlined 3 reassuring metrics below for each country. Job data comes from GrabJobs platform during months of May to June 2020.
SINGAPORE

77% increase in new companies registering
During the course of June we saw a 77% increase in new companies registering to post jobs, from the previous month. For SMEs it’s actually been higher with a 82% increase.
Large Retail and F&B brands that had been seriously affected by the circuit breaker are also back into hiring mode, such as Uniqlo, Norbreeze Group, Guzman y Gomez, KFC and Spa-Esprit Group.
40% increase in new jobs
In June, the number of new jobs posted increased by 40% from May.
The top 5 job categories with most jobs posted were:
1. Sales
2. Customer Service
3. Marketing
4. Food & Beverage
5. Accounting & Finance
25% increase in applicants being shortlisted
Perhaps the most encouraging signal. Companies have shortlisted 25% more applicants in June than they did in May. This is a clear sign that companies have headcounts to fill.
The top 5 popular job categories with most job applicants were:
1. Admin & Operations
2. Food & Beverage
3. Customer Service
4. Sales
5. Retail
INDONESIA



129% increase in new companies registering
133% increase in new jobs
In June, the number of new jobs increased by a massive 133% from May.
The top 5 job categories with most jobs posted were:
1. Admin & Operations
2. Sales
3. Accounting & Finance
4. Manufacturing
5. Logistics
114% increase in applicants being shortlisted
Perhaps the most encouraging signal. Companies have shortlisted 114% more applicants in June than they did in May. This is a clear sign that companies have headcounts to fill.
The top 5 popular job categories with most job applicants were:
1. Manufacturing
2. Admin & Operations
3. Customer Service
4. Food & Beverage
5. Retail
Increases in job activity are very positive economic indicators. I hope these metrics will help cheer you up.
I believe the worst is over and we’ve entered the rebuilding phase. The road to recovery is still going to be a long and arduous one, but step by step remember that we will inevitably reach pre-covid levels.
How do you see things on your end? Do you have a positive outlook of the coming months?
Feel free to add your opinion below.