The Asia tech job market is showing early signs of softening with an 8 percent YoY decline in tech job ads in the first quarter of 2023, but tech talent in the region remain confident in their prospects, according to SEEK, the parent company of Asia’s leading employment platforms JobStreet and JobsDB.
In a study titled “What Tech Jobseekers Wish Employers Knew ; Unlocking the Future of Recruitment” published by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network, a global alliance of recruitment websites which SEEK’s JobStreet and JobsDB are a part of, revealed that 71 percent of tech talent in the region feel that they have a positive negotiation power. Almost half of them are approached with job opportunities on a weekly or monthly basis, making them a highly sought-after talent category.
SEEK Asia CEO Peter Bithos said the decline for tech talent from the peak of 2022’s boom is still 42 percent higher than pre-COVID levels, indicating that the demand for tech talent remains strong despite the easing of tech hiring activities.
“Many traditional tech companies are now scaling back after over-hiring during the pandemic, and the cooling hiring rate may persist as businesses are faced with higher interest rates and a possible recession. Nonetheless, the need for strong tech talent won’t be going away anytime soon. To put things into perspective, in Singapore, the Ministry of Manpower reported that there was a total of 6,440 retrenchments in 2022 across all industries, but the number of tech roles available on JobStreet Singapore still exceeded 10,000 every month last year,” he explained.
According to the World Economic Forum, it is estimated that 150 million new technology jobs will be created over the next five years, and 77 percent of jobs will require digital skills by 2030. However, businesses currently face a tech talent shortage as only a third of technology jobs worldwide are filled by workers who possess the necessary digital skills.
The data from SEEK’s platforms shows that the average number of applications per tech job ad in Asia has increased by over 40 percent, year-on-year, which could indicate that tech talent affected by layoffs are actively applying for jobs, or they are optimistic about their chances of finding a better job elsewhere.
“While a shift is taking place in the tech talent market, the ball is not back in employers’ court yet. Tech talent are still in high demand, and the recent layoffs have created an opening for non-tech companies to attract top talent from a growing pool of jobseekers with tech experience, as well as an opportunity to attract them in jobs that offer more stability,” Blithos said.
