Economist discusses what Singapore's HR leaders will need to prepare for
Singapore’s labour market has remained tight, and its unemployment rate continues to be very low – but what can HR leaders expect to see in 2024?
According to Indeed’s senior APAC economist Callam Pickering, Singapore is one of the few markets – along with the Philippines and Malaysia – to see a growth in job postings, well ahead of most European and American economies. Asia is expected to be the world’s fastest growing economic region, and we can expect to see more opportunities for jobseekers throughout the year.
However, Pickering notes that there are now 1.6 job vacancies per unemployed person in Singapore – a ratio that used to be 1:1 prior to the pandemic. He says this indicates a “considerable mismatch” between the jobs being created and the skills of those without work – something HR leaders will need to address.
“Recruitment can be challenging in sectors that change rapidly,” Pickering tells HRD.
“It often leads to mismatches between the skills that employers demand, and the skills that jobseekers possess. These differences are something HR teams will need to reconcile when hiring.”
When it comes to talent strategy, Pickering says that flexibility is quickly becoming a vital factor. Indeed’s latest research showed that hybrid workers fare better than those with 100% remote or in-office setups, and 62% of hybrid workers said they were unlikely to leave their role in 2024 (compared to 51% fully remote, and 45% fully in-office).
Indeed’s Hiring Lab data also revealed that Singapore creates more opportunities compared to its peers across Asia, particularly in white-collar sectors like tech, finance and engineering. But in order to hire the best talent, employers need to have their fingers on the pulse of the labour market.
Pickering notes that 2023 provided some “valuable learnings” with regards to what employees are looking for, and HR leaders should take note of these when implementing their hiring strategy.
“10% of Singapore job postings on Indeed mention diversity, inclusion, belonging or equality in their job descriptions,” he says.
“This is important to your employer brand, and companies that ignore or neglect diversity & inclusion risk being left behind. Remote work has also been one of the biggest labour market trends in recent years, and we’ve seen a noticeable decline in how often Singapore employers advertise remote work.”
Despite this, Pickering highlights that jobseeker interest in remote roles has seen no such decline – and this has led to a disconnect, which has made it more difficult for some employers to attract and hire candidates.
He notes that pay transparency is also becoming increasingly important, and 32% of Indeed job postings in Singapore now include pay information. Finally, Pickering says we are likely to see an increase in job postings mentioning AI and GenAI.
“GenAI features in just 0.3% of job postings,” he explains. “Now, that may not be a big number – it’s about one in every 350 postings – but it’s a rapidly growing number. Perhaps most importantly it is a much bigger number than we are seeing elsewhere, more than 3x higher than the US, more than 4x higher than the United Kingdom. We expect this growth to continue this year.”
Pickering will be hosting a webinar – Data-Driven Insights into Singapore’s Labour Market – on 21 February 2024. He will provide key insights into the trends shaping the future of work, and will do a deep dive into Indeed’s data on Singapore’s talent landscape.
To register for the free webinar, click here.
