During our recent stay in Melaka it seemed like every second shop was looking for staff. To be fair many weren't paying much, RM 3.50 per hour is roughly one Australian dollar per hour.

Most of them seem to require the ability to speak some combination of Chinese (Mandarin and / or Cantonese), Malay and English. It's sobering to realize that we're not qualified to work as shop assistants around here.

I'm not sure if the volume of retail jobs available is necessarily a sign of a booming economy however it seems like stuff is happening in Melaka.