Hong Kong’s employment opportunities have rebounded to exceed pre-pandemic levels last year, going by job advertisements, according to online platform JobsDB.

Latest data by the employment services firm, released on Monday, showed the total number of recruitment ads last year had jumped by 73 per cent from 2020, surging ahead of 2019’s pre-pandemic level by 8.46 per cent. The rise in opportunities from the last quarter of 2021 is expected to continue after Lunar New Year.

Among the openings, “information technology” (IT), “corporate sales and business development” and “banking or finance” were the most sought-after functions last year. Respectively, ads corresponding to these sectors increased by 35, 55 and 36 per cent from 2020.

The total number of recruitment ads in Hong Kong last year jumped by 73 per cent from 2020, surging ahead of 2019’s pre-pandemic level by 8.46 per cent, according to JobsDB.

Ads for positions in virtual banking also jumped 58 per cent from 2020, following the rapid development of virtual banking, electronic payment and other businesses in financial institutions, the survey said.

“The pandemic has prompted financial institutions to invest more resources in technology, to provide more convenient and flexible services to cope with the ever-changing market landscape,” said Bill Lee, managing director of JobsDB Hong Kong.

“With the use of mobile payment and virtual banking becoming more prevalent, there has also been a shift in requirements for talent acquisition.”

He pointed out that besides traditional banking and risk management-related jobs, roles related to software application and development, as well as network systems, were also expected to be among the most sought-after job functions.

According to JobDB’s hiring, compensation and benefits report last year, nearly half of the businesses – 46 per cent – expected the market to remain buoyant in the coming year.

“With businesses poised for more robust growth through the transitional period and the peak hiring season after the Lunar New Year, employees, especially those who are more experienced and qualified, could more proactively seek career breakthroughs and advancement opportunities, and stay up speed with the recruitment market,” Lee said.

Meanwhile, an overwhelming 97 per cent said they would switch their specialisation if they could restart their career related to “AI, automation and robotics” as their top choice, according to the Tech Talent Expectations Survey conducted in September last year and recently released by Recruitment agency Randstad Hong Kong on 306 IT professionals in the city.

Another 45 per cent picked Western global enterprises as their top choice of company to work for, followed by Asian global companies (30 per cent).

Benjamin Elms, regional director at Randstad Hong Kong, advised both employers and job seekers to build their skills and capabilities to match their AI ambitions: “As AI and big data are inextricably linked, tech employees need to ensure that they have sufficient big data development and management skills to fulfil the tasks and responsibilities of their role, as well as drive new innovation opportunities for the organisation.”