KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 — Malaysians looking for jobs last month had the most luck getting hired if they were in an IT-related field or the oil-and-gas industry, according to the latest report from online recruitment firm Monster.com.

Its Monster Employment Index released today showed an overall 5 per cent drop in online hiring for the other seven out of nine industries surveyed year-on-year in November.

Hiring grew 28 per cent for information technology, telecom/internet service provider, business process outsourcing/IT enabled service while O&G was up 16 per cent year-on-year.

Occupation-wise, the most sought-after roles were for customer service which recorded an increase of 6 per cent, followed by positions in software, hardware and telecommunications at 3 per cent.

The demand for sales business development professionals dropped 10 per cent as at November, according to Monster.

The industries that were most hit were hospitality at negative 17 per cent; and banking, financial services and insurance at negative 12 per cent.

Monster’s Asia Pacific and Middle East chief executive officer Abhijeet Mukherjee said research showed the sluggish hiring activity was due to the uncertainty over the new Pakatan Harapan government’s macro policy in the aftermath of the May 9 general election.

He said this had a slight dampening effect on banking, adding that analysts expect the sector’s core earnings will also be lower for 2018.

He added that Finance and Accounts job roles also saw the notable annual decline among occupation categories which is 10 per cent down.

Mukherjee noted that finance is undergoing a change and is now embracing automation.

"As the needs of banks change, they will sharpen their focus to recruiting people with specific technology expertise. Now more than ever, banks need leaders who understand the kinds of transformation that are possible and prepare to change management effectively,” he said in a statement accompanying the Monster report.