MORE than a third of Malaysians have taken a pay cut as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns, a Jobstreet survey showed.

The survey of 5,000 Jobstreet users showed that 35% had experienced salary reductions, with some as high as 30%, said country manager Bock Herm Gan during a virtual press conference today.

He said up to 20% of Malaysians had lost their jobs during the government imposed movement control order (MCO) that started on March 18.

“Those who have lost their jobs are short-term contract workers and those from the lower salary range.

“The sectors that experienced the worst job losses were hospitality and tourism, particularly the small companies.”

He said the survey conducted in May showed that 54% of Malaysians were actively applying for jobs.

“On Google, we found there was a 250% increase in job searches.”

During the presentation, he said Google logged more than 74 million job searches in March, a 13% increase prior to the coronavirus outbreak.

Year-on-year, job searches were 16% higher with an additional five million searches for career advice.

Despite that, he said some sectors are still hiring.

“The jobs most employers are looking for today are in the information technology (IT), manufacturing and healthcare sectors.”

According to Jobstreet, there were 3,269 vacancies in IT, 3,314 in manufacturing, 1,991 in banking, 1,820 in retail and 1,307 in healthcare.

“The increased demand for IT workers is in line with companies looking to restructure their businesses to be more digital,” he said.

Meanwhile, Jobstreet launched its #worknow campaign to help Malaysian job seekers quickly find new employment.

“By including the hashtag #worknow, applicants who have been recently displaced can highlight their CVs (curriculum vitae) to companies looking to hire.

“This will help them quickly find jobs and help companies find talent,” said Jobstreet CEO Suresh Thiru.

He said employers will not be charged for assessing the #worknow CVs. – June 3, 2020.