JobStreet.com Employment Confidence Index (JECI) records increase in first half of 2002 but uncertainties remain
The JobStreet.com Employment Confidence Index (JECI) that has been tracking job seekers’ confidence levels since 1998 has shown positive signs for the first six months of 2002. JECI had its fair share of ups and downs as it tracked the confidence of job-seekers in finding a job in the country today.The index is measured by polling the job-seekers who throng JobStreet.com’s website -current page views of JobStreet.com’s website is over 30 million per month and the number of current subscribers totalling two million regionally. The one question asked is “What are the chances of securing a reasonable job in the Malaysian job market today? “

Mark Chang, CEO of JobStreet.com says “The economic outlook is seen to have turned around, particularly with stronger demand in most industries in the second half of 2002 and growth expectations projected by various sectors are definitely more positive. At a time when the US recession is bottoming out, the confidence of job-seekers in finding new employment has risen slightly from its slumps. With Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) projected to still grow by 4% to 5% this year (MIER/Bank Negara), the index for the last quarter from April to June 2002 shows the JECI to be on the upward trend, with only a slight dip in June. JECI climbed to 36.88 in May this year, the highest in 11 months.”

Tracking the JECI- Mark explains, “ In August 1998 when we started this index, 56.30% of the respondents were already saying that the chances of getting a reasonable job were either bad or very bad. Four months later as the financial crisis dragged on, the confidence level sank to its lowest level of 24.11 points.”

“But with the Malaysian economy turning around in 1999, confidence returned to the local job market. The brightest points reached in the JECI were during the first quarter of 2000 when it touched 56.82 points at its highest level. Since 2001, the JECI has been in steady decline in September to 34.87 points. In 2001, the recession in the US and the entry of China to the WTO meant that many companies were relocating their manufacturing plants to China and forcing many of Malaysia’s skilled and unskilled work-force to search for alternative jobs. This pressure point continued for much of 2001 and as reflected in the JECI, job-seeker confidence was at its lowest in Q4 of 2001 and in fact, reached 30.62 in September of that year as job-seekers reacted sharply to the events in the US.”

He adds, “Since January 2002 the percentage of respondents that expressed confidence in finding a job rose to well above 30 points. With signs of an economic upturn in Malaysia, the JECI has shrugged off its sluggishness as the confidence in the job market is returning. Lingering uncertainties in the US following the collapse of Enron and later, WorldCom, and the woes of their auditor, Arthur Andersen had little effect on JECI but at the end of June itself, the JECI dipped following the current political developments in Malaysia.”

Interestingly, the JECI bears some broad resemblance to the movement of the KLSE Composite Index (KLCI). Though it should not be taken as an indicator for the country’s economy, the JECI nevertheless looks like a reasonable alternate yardstick to gauge the man-in-the-street’s view of the country’s well-being. For example, the highest points of the JECI coincided with the KLCI at its peak. But ever since touching those highs in the first quarter of 2000, both the JECI and the KLCI have been coasting lower as reflected in the chart below.



What Is the JobStreet.com Employment Confidence Index (JECI)?
The JECI is a measure of a job-seeker's confidence in finding a job. It ranges from zero (very poor) to 100 (very good). A low index shows a tough job market where many people find it difficult to get a job. A high index shows a comfortable job market where many people are able to secure a good job. The index fluctuates with time and its trend is an important indication of the production and economic development of the nation. The sampling size for each month’s index averages about 2,000 -3,000 respondents.

About JobStreet.com
JobStreet.com is Asia’s leading online recruitment company. The company owns and operates Asia’s most popular career site at www.jobstreet.com, with over two million members and facilitating more than one million online applications a month. JobStreet.com’s currently has 10 offices and a customer base of over 10,000 corporations based Malaysia, Singapore, India and the Philippines. Among JobStreet.com’s customers in Malaysia are leading multinational and Malaysian corporations such as Dell, Shell, Intel, DHL, Maxis, Sunway Group of Companies, Colgate Palmolive, American Express, Unilever, Hindustan Lever and Citibank. In 2001 it won the 2000 Asia-Pacific Multimedia Super Corridor Information Technology & Telecommunications Awards for the Best Software Applications category for its ASP-based SiVA recruitment management application. At the @my2000 and @MY2001 Malaysia Internet Awards, JobStreet.com was twice named the Internet Company of the Year.