HONG KONG - Jobseekers should start updating their resumes soon as employers in Singapore, China and Hong Kong are ready to hire again.

Salaries are also set to accelerate across Asia next year as business conditions improve.

A survey by United States human-resource consultants Hewitt Consultants forecasts that wages in China will jump 6.7 per cent next year after rising only 4.5 per cent this year.

Pay rises in Hong Kong and Singapore will be more modest at just under 3 per cent.

Job prospects for executives at multinational companies (MNCs) in these three Asian markets have improved sharply in the past three months, with growing sentiments that Asia's recovery from the global recession will be sustainable, a survey by executive recruiters Hudson Asia showed yesterday.

In Hong Kong, companies from the media, public-relations and advertising sector are the most bullish - 69 per cent of those polled say they would be hiring, compared with 28 per cent in the May survey.

In China, 39 per cent of employers say they plan to add staff, up from 27 per cent in May, with companies in banking and finance most optimistic about hiring.

In Singapore, the health-care and life-sciences sector continues to offer the best hiring opportunities, with 44 per cent of firms preparing to recruit.

The Hudson quarterly survey covered responses from nearly 2,000 managers at MNCs across industries in the three markets.