Singapore hiring pace likely to slow down in Q3: survey

Singapore

THE hiring pace is likely to slow down in the next three months in Singapore - the weakest outlook in eight years, based on the employment outlook survey by ManpowerGroup released on Monday.

Of the 632 employers in Singapore polled by the US-based employment firm, 8 per cent expected to increase headcount in the July-September quarter, 4 per cent planned to decrease headcount while 60 per cent anticipated no change.

The proportion of employers who are not sure of their hiring plans has also risen to 28 per cent - the highest in six quarters. It was one per cent in the previous quarter.

The net employment outlook - the percentage of employers who projected a rise in staffing levels minus the percentage who anticipate a decline - was 4 per cent, after adjusting for seasonal factors.

Year-on-year, hiring intentions dipped six percentage points, resulting in the least optimistic forecast since 2009. Compared with the previous quarter, hiring intentions were lower by four percentage points.

Linda Teo, country manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore, said: "Employers are remaining cautious despite the positive economic forecasts recently provided by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and this abundance of caution is evidently prompting many of the employers we survey to scale back their hiring plans."

However, she said, employers seem willing to keep current payrolls intact until ongoing trade issues and other geopolitical risks are mitigated.

"The loss of some jobs is inevitable in a maturing and transitioning economy, but there are other jobs being created as well. Workers will have to adapt to the ever changing world of work, and remain relevant by upskilling and reskilling," said Ms Teo.

While all seven industry sectors are expected to take in more workers during the third quarter of 2017, the overall hiring pace is expected to slow in comparison to the preceding quarter and the year-ago period.

A stable hiring climate continued in the mining and construction sector with employers reporting a net employment outlook of +7 per cent for the second consecutive quarter. It also reported the strongest hiring intentions for Q3 2017.

The transportation and utilities sector as well as the services sector have a net employment outlook of +6 per cent and +5 per cent respectively. Employers in the manufacturing as well as the public administration and education sector reported the most cautious outlooks of +2 per cent. The wholesale and retail trade sector saw a turnaround with staffing levels expected to rise slightly in Q3 2017, with an outlook of +3 per cent.

Year on year, hiring intentions have declined in six of the seven industry sectors. Net employment outlook for the finance, insurance and real estate sector dipped 15 percentage points while the wholesale and retail trade sector improved by two percentage points.

Compared with Q2 2017, hiring prospects weaken in five of the seven industry sectors. The public administration and education sector's outlook declined by 14 percentage points while the wholesale and retail trade sector improved by three percentage points.

Globally, the strongest Q3 2017 hiring plans were reported in Japan, Taiwan, Hungary and the United States. The weakest forecasts were reported in Italy, the Czech Republic and Finland.