Share of newly created job vacancies in Singapore at six-year high

THE share of job vacancies in Singapore that were newly created – as opposed to positions vacated by former employees – reached 47.3 per cent in 2023, the highest since this data series began in 2018.

This was up from 38.7 per cent in 2022, according to the latest Job Vacancies report released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Monday (Mar 25).

MOM said: “The majority of these newly created positions arose due to business expansion into existing and new functions. This reflects the evolving nature of our economy and the accompanying changes in manpower demand.”

Employees must continue to upskill and reskill to fill these new positions, and the government will support this process, it added.

In 2022, the share of newly created positions registered the only dip to below 40 per cent since data collection began. The larger proportion of replacements was due to the backfilling of vacancies caused by the pandemic when borders closed, an MOM spokesperson said in a media briefing.

As reported earlier in March, the number of job vacancies in Singapore grew to 79,800 in December, ending a six-quarter streak of declines from March 2022’s peak.

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The latest edition of the annual report is based on a survey conducted in the final quarter of 2023, reflecting data at end-September.

The proportion of Singapore’s job vacancies for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) continued to rise in 2023, at 57.2 per cent, up slightly from 56 per cent in 2022 and 39.2 per cent in 2013, though still shy of pre-pandemic 2019 levels.

MOM attributed this “steady increase” in the PMET share of job vacancies to the higher demand for skilled workers, particularly in sectors such as information and communications, financial and insurance services, professional services and health and social services.

The distribution of PMET to non-PMET vacancies reflects the effects of border reopening and the return of non-PMET workers for construction and some services industries, said OCBC chief economist Selena Ling.

Despite restructuring and layoffs in tech firms, tech-focused roles remained sought after last year. Software, Web and multimedia developers continued to rank at the top of PMET vacancies, similar to in 2022. Job openings for system analysts also remained within the top 10 PMET vacancies.

“Tech companies are now looking at new areas to invest in,” said Ang Boon Heng, director of the manpower research and statistics department at MOM, naming artificial intelligence (AI) as one such new area. “That’s why they’re shifting their roles.”

Spots for business development and sales professionals rose, and demand for registered nurses and enrolled nurses remained strong.

Employers were willing to pay more to fill these positions, compared to 2022 due to strong demand for these workers, said MOM.

For example, the minimum pay hirers were prepared to offer for software, Web and multimedia developers rose to S$5,000 in 2023, from S$4,200 in 2022.

Ling noted that non-PMET vacancies remained largely dominated by jobs deemed by Singaporeans as low-paying or having unattractive work conditions, such as waiters and cleaners, despite progress made in raising Local Qualifying Salary and Progressive Wage Model (PWM) adjustments.

Reasons for hiring

Overall, 74.9 per cent of job vacancies no longer look to academic qualifications as the main determinant in hiring, up from 2022’s 73.6 per cent and 2017’s 67.1 per cent.

Most employers, at 68.3 per cent, also indicated they were open to hiring candidates with qualifications lower than required for the position, “if the applicants possess relevant work experience, skills, or attitude”.

Said MOM: “This suggests that while academic qualifications are still relevant in hiring decisions, there is an increased willingness among employers to also consider applicants’ relevant experience and skill sets.”

In a Facebook post, National Trades Union Congress secretary-general Patrick Tay said: “As the job market becomes increasingly competitive, soft skills will be our ‘X factor’ in hiring and employment.”

This finding is encouraging, said Ling. But she added: “Maybe it’s also a case of ‘beggars can’t be choosers’, given the difficulty of sourcing for talent in a very tight domestic labour pool, so employers are encouraged to cast their net wider.”

CGS International Singapore economic adviser Song Seng Wun said the post-pandemic normalisation of economic activities is forcing more employers to look beyond academic qualifications when filling PMET vacancies, as overall vacancies continue to outnumber jobseekers. (see *Amendment note)

Employers’ increased flexibility and openness to a wider talent pool has made them better able to fill vacancies, resulting in the proportion of vacancies that are harder to fill trending down, the ministry added.

The share of job openings left unfilled for six months or more declined to 23.5 per cent in 2023, from 2022’s 27.1 per cent.

The decline over the decade was driven by non-PMET vacancies. MOM said this reflects success in alleviating the manpower crunch for these jobs through access to foreign manpower, technology adoption, job redesign, skills upgrading, and wage increases through the PWM.

It added that non-PMET jobs such as supervisors in building and related trades, as well as shop sales assistants, had a higher share of vacancies that were less difficult to fill.

Easier-to-fill PMET vacancies include management executives for non-specialised duties, operations research analysts and administration managers.

Embracing technology and digitalisation to increase productivity is necessary, NTUC’s Tay said, noting employers’ struggles to fill rank-and-file roles. Telecommuting, flexi-time and flexi-load work options could also enhance productivity while attracting and retaining manpower, he added.

*Amendment note: An earlier version of the story incorrectly referred to Song Seng Wun as economic advisor at CGS-CIMB. He in fact holds the role at CGS International Singapore.