EMPLOYMENTMARKET TRENDSIN SINGAPORE

Robert HalfEmployment ReportFor First Half of 2015

©2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

EMPLOYMENTMARKET TRENDSIN JAPAN

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

©Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

ABOUT THE REPORT

This bi-annual report provides insights into the hiring plans across finance, accounting, banking and financial services, and IT for the first half of 2015.

BANKING &FINANCIAL SERVICES

COMMERCE& INDUSTRY

INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

For this report, we polled:

OPINIONS THAT MATTER

150 CFOs and finance hiring decision makers

150 senior financial services leaders

100 CIOs/CTOs

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICESEmployment Trends for

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICESHiring Projections

Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding

37%Adding

permanent positions

41%Only filling vacated

positions

4%Forecasting decreases

and reducing headcounts

17%Freezing

headcounts

BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICESConfidence Levels

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

How optimistic are leaders about their companies’ business growth trajectory in Japan?

Four out of five are confident about their companies'

growth prospects.

Confidence all round

73%

BUSINESS CONFIDENCE ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE

81%

73% of leaders are optimistic about Japan's economic

performance.

Counting on Japan

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

The first half of the year presents a strong market outlook with plenty of opportunities for financial services professionals with solid experience.

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

In the first half of 2015, professionals in these fieldsare highly sought after:

BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICESMost Sought After Talent

Accounting/Finance

Operationssupport

Risk

Revenue-generating/Business development

Compliance

Challenged to find skilled talent

96%

Concerned aboutlosing top talent

89%

The majority of banks and financial services companies are facing a challenge finding skilled talent.

Skilled talent in short supplyBesides the challenge in hiring

skilled talent, retention is apressing concern as well.

Retention of talent a priority

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

BANKING & FINANCIAL SERVICESHiring Trends

COMMERCE & INDUSTRYEmployment Trends for

COMMERCE & INDUSTRYHiring Projections

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

39%Ramping up

permanent hiring

45%Only filling

empty positions

8%Anticipating decreases

in recruitment

8%Not takingany action

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

CFOs and finance leaders look toward to a year of strong economic prospects and growth for Japan.

©Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

How optimistic are leaders about their companies’ business growth trajectory in Japan?

Leaders do not foresee any factors hampering growth this year and

are generally confident.

Strong, positive outlook

Recent policies have assured leaders of sustained

economic growth as well.

Renewed confidence

78%

BUSINESS CONFIDENCE ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE

84%

COMMERCE & INDUSTRYConfidence Levels

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

Demand for finance and accounting professionals is healthy across companies in all sectors, especially for those with the following skills:

COMMERCE & INDUSTRYMost Sought After Talent

Financialmanagement/control

ComplianceAccounts Payable/Receivable

Business/Financial analysis

AuditAccounting

Challenged to find skilled talent

82%

Concerned aboutlosing top talent

78%

With the influx of hiring happeningin early to mid 2015, a major

challenge for companies everywhereis employing skilled talent.

Skilled talent wantedRetaining existing employees is on the minds of employers and

hiring managers too.

Keeping quality talent

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

COMMERCE & INDUSTRYHiring Trends

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYEmployment Trends for

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYHiring Projections

23%Increasing headcount

of permanent staff

40%Filling

vacated positions

10%Expect a decline

in hiring

27%Freezing

headcounts

72%

BUSINESS CONFIDENCE ECONOMIC CONFIDENCE

77%

©Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

How optimistic are leaders about their companies’ business growth trajectory in Japan?

CIOs interviewed painteda positive outlook in

their companies.

Resilient and generally improving

Japan's CIOs have confidencethat the economy will continue

to thrive this coming year.

Optimism in Japan

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYConfidence Levels

IT professionals are sought after across companies in all sectors. Top skills in demand include:

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYMost Sought After Talent

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

Data/Databasemanagement

Security

Softwaredevelopment

Applicationsdevelopment

Projectmanagement

Networking

Digital

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

The IT sector has always beena hotbed for talent, and thechallenge to find the right job candidate is likely to continueto intensify.

Challenged to find skilled talent

76%

Concerned aboutlosing top talent

77%

Hiring for key IT positionsstill poses a challenge for

three out of four CIOs in Japan.

IT talent search intensifies77% of CIOs have talent

retention on their agenda too.

Retention is key

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYHiring Trends

© 2015 Robert Half. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

We hope this report has been useful and invite you to contact us for help with any of your recruitment needs.

For more information, please visit:

roberthalf.jp/employment-report-h1-2015