Most companies plan to keep employment stable despite pessimistic economic outlook: SBF survey
A MAJORITY of companies are not expecting changes to their manpower in the next 12 months, even as more of them now expect economic conditions to weaken rather than improve, a survey by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) showed on Tuesday (Sep 12).
Slightly over a third of 282 companies polled believe the economic climate is likely to worsen over the next year, compared with the 28 per cent which expect otherwise. The survey was conducted from Jul 20 to Jul 31.
The most optimistic companies were those in “other services” that offer repairs and servicing, as well as wholesale trade and manufacturing.
Conversely, the most pessimistic ones were in information and communications and professional services, as well as retail, hotels and food and beverages.
Six in 10 companies pointed to inflationary pressures leading to rising business costs as a top factor affecting their business, and 85 per cent of them expect business costs to increase in the next 12 months.
Accordingly, 45 per cent of the companies expect revenue to decline in the same period, while one-third foresee an improvement.
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Still, the employment outlook remains stable, with 89 per cent expecting no change or an increase in manpower in the next one year.
While 19 per cent of companies reported a decrease in manpower in the last 12 months, only 10 per cent are expecting a manpower decline in the next 12 months.
Over the past year, 76 per cent said they had increased salaries, and about two-thirds said they will continue to do so in the next year.
Meanwhile, 20 per cent of the companies had an increase in headcount in the last 12 months and expect to further increase in the next year.
The top three sectors in this category are banking, finance, insurance and accounting, followed by retail, hotels and food and beverages, as well as health and education.
Only 6 per cent of companies said they expect their headcount to decrease further, following a decrease in the last 12 months. These companies largely come from construction and civil engineering, logistics and transportation, as well as retail, hotels and food and beverages.
Another key finding from the survey is that 84 per cent of companies said they had sent their employees for training, although the incidence is higher at large companies, compared with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Nearly 60 per cent of companies cited manpower constraints as a challenge when considering training for employees, whereas 35 per cent said training programmes were “not offering practical business applications and outcomes”.
The survey drew responses from companies across key industries, with manufacturing, wholesale trade, and construction and engineering among the top three most represented.
Close to 80 per cent of the respondents were SMEs.
Commenting on the survey, SBF chief executive Kok Ping Soon said: “There are sectors that expect to do well, just as there are sectors that will continue to face headwinds. Hence, differentiated and sustainable wage growth that keeps (up) with the underlying productivity growth of the sectors is important.”
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