Jobs Galore

Transportation and construction are expected to be the hottest sectors for job this year, thanks to projects recently announced by the govertment, said the Malaysian Employers Federation.  These projects include the construction of the mass rapid transit system and others under the Economic Transformation Programme.

These projects include the construction of the mass rapid transit system and others under the economic Transformation Programme.Federation executive secretary Samsudin Bardan,speaking to the New Straits Times yesterday,said this year would be a good year for job seekers.

"If 2010 was the year of planning,then 2011 is the year that all these projects will be implemented.That means the creation of more jobs to accommodate these projects".Some 3.3 million jobs will be created over the next 10 years as the government restructures the economy under ETP.Samsudin said in the Greater KL area,total employment was expected to increase from 2.5 million last year to 4.2 million this year.He also said the services sector would gain prominence this year.

"With Bank Negara Malaysia issuing new licences to banks and foreign investors,there will be an emphasis on the services sector,especially in financial services.The job market is always good as we keep our unemployment rate at below the international benchmark of four per cent.The unemployment rate was 3.8 per cent last year and we expect to bring it down to 3.5 per cent this year.Unlike otther countres,wha we face in Malaysia is transient unemployment,where people are unemployed as theyy move between jobs.There are those who choose to be unemployed because they don't like certain jobs or don't want to work in a certain sector.There are,however,many jobs available".

Employees and job seekers can also look forward to increase in wages this year.The survey forecast that wages for executives would increase by 5.79 per cent this year compared with 5.67 per cent last year.Non-executives could expect increases of up to 5.89 per cent,up from 5.28 per cent.

The survey showed that 86.1 per cent of companies gave bonuses to their executives last year while 83.7 per cent provided bonuses to non-executives,which was higher than 80 per cent in 2009.

From The News Straits Times