Go East, My Son! Job Seekers Flock to Asia

(Moneynews) – The weak job market in the U.S. is sending many in search of a meaningful career headed to Asia, experts say.

Job placement firms are reporting a surge in American worker interest in booming economies such as Hong Kong, Singapore, China and India, USA Today reports. 

Hunt Partners, an executive search firm, estimates that it's getting up to twice as many more unsolicited résumés from Americans looking for Asia-based positions today than before the recession. 

Recruiting and executive search firms such as Korn/Ferry International, Robert Walters and Manpower, are seeing similar trends.

"The U.S. is not picking up, Europe is having a lot of trouble, and all the opportunity that I'm seeing is here in Asia," says Ryan Lovell, 24, a business analyst here for EC Harris, a real estate consulting firm.

Across Asia, senior executives can expect to be paid as much as or sometimes more than in the U.S. for a similar position, says Steve Fisher, an executive recruiter at Korn/Ferry. Housing and educational stipends also sweeten the deal.

Still, Asian economies are dependent on a healthy U.S. economy, which in turn is dependent on stronger consumer demand.

"The impact of a slowdown in consumer spending in the U.S. will be felt by the factories in China, Japan and South Korea," Stefan Hofer Emerging Markets Equity Strategist at Julius Baer, writes in a BBC column. 

"The fewer goods consumers in the U.S. buy, the lower will be the output in Asian factories exporting to the U.S."

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