By Chua Hian Hou

CUTBACKS in the financial sectors were largely behind a 9 per cent fall in the number of white-collar jobs on offer here in the last quarter.

There were 214,999 job advertisements placed for mid- and senior-level positions during the three months to June 30, down from 236,423 in the first quarter, according to the just-launched Robert Walters Asia Job Index.

The recruitment firm's index tracks print and online job ads for white-collar jobs placed each month.

Its Singapore managing director, Mr Mark Ellwood, said the 'slight drop' was due to the ongoing financial turmoil in the United States and the tendency for financial services firms to advertise for positions in the first quarter.

This is in anticipation of resignations following bonus payments.

Mr Ellwood said many financial firms, like international banks which have created many white-collar jobs in the past 18 months, have turned cautious since the sub-prime crisis began unfolding.

'It is hard to say what the consequences and fallout' of the crisis are likely to be and this has meant a 'more cautious approach' to hiring by the financial sector, he said.

Mr Ellwood also pointed out that the financial sector typically sees 'a lot of movement post-bonus time'.

Bonuses in this industry 'make up a significant part of the pay, even for middle and back-office functions', so staff tend to quit once they have banked the cash.

Many firms anticipate these resignations and advertise in the first quarter year, resulting in a spike in job advertisements.

But job openings from other sectors like telecommunications or logistics have been generally 'steady, with a particularly strong demand for sales professionals', added Mr Ellwood.

But if the financial sector woes impact on consumer demand, it could prompt companies in these other sectors to also hunker down to ride out the crisis in the next few months, he said.

This could mean fewer jobs ahead but Robert Walters has seen no sign of it yet.

The index, which was launched yesterday, also tracks the Hong Kong job scene.

Job ads there rose by 3 per cent, from 460,344 for the quarter ended March 30, to 474,308 for the June period.

Hong Kong's better prospects are believed to be underpinned by its proximity to China, which is expected to grow by 10 per cent this year, the firm said.

Robert Walters is looking at extending the index to other mature markets such as Japan.

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 23 July 2008.