KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 27): Global recruitment specialist Michael Page said about 55% of job seekers in Malaysia are confident the country’s job market will get better in the next six months, driven by the technology field and shared services sector.

Michael Page Malaysia director May Wah Chan said there is a lot of positive outlook with strong prospects in the technology field with the support from the government, in line with Malaysia's effort in transforming to a digital economy.

“Consumers are increasingly savvy which has created opportunities for innovative start-ups and motivated traditional businesses to digitise their processes,” she said, commenting on the growing optimism.

May said shared services also remain one of Malaysia’s driving sectors, particularly within accounting and finance.

The rise of globalisation and technology has allowed global corporations the ease of offshoring back-office operations to Malaysia, which will lead to more jobs being created.

However, May noted while increased opportunities indicate employment optimism, companies in Malaysia still face the recurring challenge of a limited talent pool.

There is fierce competition for top-tier professionals.

“Hiring managers who can secure qualified hires offer strong skills development, work-life balance and personal progression,” according to the Michael Page Job Applicant Confidence Index Q2 2017, released today.

The Michael Page survey further reported that 62% of job seekers are confident of securing a job in less than three months and 47% are driven by the desire to develop new skills.

Additionally, the logistics sector also drives much employment prospects, particularly at the last mile fulfilment phase.

“This sector is moving from a B2B to a B2C mode, and impact has been felt most in the outside urban areas of Malaysia, where logistic companies have partnered with grocery retail firms to deliver to home residences,” May said.

The survey found about 56% of respondents from Malaysia foresee a good- to an excellent national economy within the next six months.

With government initiatives like Malaysia Digital Hub and Tech Entrepreneur Programme, Malaysia has created sound infrastructure for foreign technology companies to establish themselves.

“This has led to market observations whereby we are seeing employment jumpstarted in the e-commerce and digital marketing fields,” she said.

The survey also revealed professionals are most optimistic about skills development (81%), expansion of their scope of functions (74%) and compensation levels (59%) over the next 12 months.

The survey measures how optimistic job applicants are about the current job market.

It evaluated the responses of 468 mid- to senior-level employees in Malaysia, across organisations and industries.