Jobseekers have cause for celebration as Singapore’s hiring pace in the first three months of 2021 is set to be the strongest in six years. This was reflected in the results of the Employment Outlook Survey released on Dec 8 by ManpowerGroup, a global recruitment firm.
Of the 476 employers surveyed, 19% are looking at higher payrolls next year. 4% anticipate a decrease while 66% expect things to remain at status quo. After accounting for seasonal variation, this translates to a net employment outlook of +15% - 17 percentage points higher than that for the current quarter ending on Dec 30.
On a year-on-year basis, the outlook is 7 percentage points higher than the figure registered for 1Q2020.
“The strong recovery in employment outlook reflects employers’ growing confidence now that the pandemic is under control in Singapore,” notes Linda Teo, Country Manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore.
However, she expects a gradual return to pre-pandemic hiring levels as employers continue to keep their plans fluid in anticipation of new developments to the crisis.
Among the respondents, 12% expect this reversal to happen in the next 3 months, 9% anticipate a 4 – 9 month time from while 4% are looking at 10 – 12 months. Conversely, 17% estimate it will take over a year, while 19% predict that hiring will never recover.
The remaining 39% of employers are uncertain.
The employers surveyed come from different sectors, such as finance, insurance and real estate, manufacturing, mining and construction, public admin and education, services, transportation and utilities as well as wholesale and retail trade.
With a net employment outlook of +26%, hiring prospects for the marine & offshore sector is the most optimistic. This comes as works in the industry step up to meet project timelines that were delayed due to the measures imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19 infections.
Upbeat hiring is also expected in the services (+18%) and transportation & utilities (+17%) sectors.
SEE: Bleak hiring sentiment to continue into 4Q20: ManpowerGroup Survey
Teo attributes this to the greater online shopping and the corresponding increase in demand for logistics.
Meanwhile, steady hiring activity is anticipated in the public administration & education (+14%), manufacturing (+12%), wholesale and retail trade (+10%) and finance, insurance & real estate (+8%).
This comes as the sectors look to pick up works, after being hit by lower activity this year.
Based on the latest results, Singapore’s job market prospects appear more optimistic than that in the seven Asia Pacific markets surveyed. Hiring prospects in the city state was tops, second only to Taiwan which had a net employment outlook of +23%.
Other countries from the region with a positive net employment outlook include Australia (+12%), China (+6%), India (+6%) and Japan (+6%).
Sentiments were the poorest for Hong Kong, which recorded a net employment outlook of -2%.
Aside from Asia-Pacific, several countries from the Americas, Middle East and Africa are positive in their hiring outlook for the upcoming quarter. Specifically, the US is looking at a hiring outlook of +17%.
However, hiring sentiments are not as optimistic in the European region with countries like the UK logging a net employment outlook of -6%.
