eFinancialCareers

A slow final quarter awaits the recruitment market in Singapore and Hong Kong. With Wall Street and Europe delivering daily doses of bad news, many banks in Asia are simply too scared to sign off on new jobs.

But the reflective mood in Raffles Place and Central also means that massive layoffs are unlikely. Financial employers are playing wait-and-see, leaving the chainsaw in the shed for now.

James Carss, director of banking and financial services at recruitment company Hudson, describes the Hong Kong job market as “stable and resilient” compared to New York and London, with no major redundancies on the horizon. Firms are taking time out to observe the market and any hiring in the meantime must be absolutely critical, especially in the front office.

Candidates have also become extra cautious in the wake of the global financial crisis. Carss comments: “They don’t want to move into the unknown and end up at a new Lehman.”

It’s a similarly unspectacular story down in Singapore. Despite their long-term belief in Asian growth, it’s hard for banks to sign off on new jobs in the current uncertain market, says Pan Zaixian, who manages financial services at recruiter Robert Walters.

“There are lots of interviews and discussions going on but not so many offers because of the cost pressures that banks are under. There is also uncertainty at the ground level about M&A deals planned at the head-office level,” he adds.

Pan says the recruitment slowdown, which can be traced to the start of the credit crunch last year, has got worse in the last three weeks. “But we shouldn’t see Singapore suffering on anything like the same scale as London and New York.”

Expat expectations

Carss says the Lehman Brothers collapse has triggered a further rise in the already high levels of applications from the US and Europe.

Pan adds that not all foreign candidates will find work, because growth in the jobs market is gradual at best. “There might be places available as from mid next year when the market situation is clearer, but the trouble is that for many it’s not practical to wait that long.”

Governance-centric job functions, such as compliance, risk and audit, should remain in demand in the current quarter. “Volume has held up this year. Good solid accountants with banking backgrounds are still sought after,” says Carss.