On a more positive note, Consumer Goods was the most active industry in terms of online hiring, registering a strong 24 percent growth from the same period last year.
Looking at occupation performance, Software (including hardware and telecom) was the only sector to see positive growth, registering a 14 percent increase from January 2017.
In the wider GCC region, Kuwait registered commendable growth in online hiring activity, at 12 percent.
