IT professionals looking to switch jobs may need to reconsider their decision, as hiring data shows a 48 percent dip in online hiring activities in the sector.

According to online job advertising portal Monster.com, software, hardware and telecom professionals remain the least in demand, compared to July 2015.

"This is a further nine percent drop from 39 percent decline reported in June," it said in a statement today.

The steepest plunge was, however, recorded in the banking and financial sector where online recruitment shrank by 36 percent year-on-year, it said.

The data was captured through the Monster Employment Index, which analyses online job posting activity on the website.

On the whole, Monster.com found a slump in e-recruitment activity in Malaysia, marked by a 17 percent annual decline in July.

“Global challenging headwinds continue to stunt Malaysia’s economic growth, slowing hiring activities across multiple sectors. This has also been reflected in the latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), where Malaysia has seen a continuous decrease in manufacturing output, brought about by lower export orders.

"According to AmBank’s Research, this slowing trend is likely to stick around, so we can expect to see slow hiring in the coming months,” said Sanjay Modi, Monster.com – Asia Pacific and Middle East managing director.

However, a silver lining emerged in the tourism and hospitality sector which reported the biggest annual growth in hiring at 13 percent.

“A recent initiative by Tourism Malaysia to position Malaysia as a desirable destination has helped drive demands for employees within the hospitality sector.

"With strong support from these parties, the sector is likely to continue to thrive amid the poor economic climate," he said.