3 in 5 employers plan to offer salary increases ranging from 3% to 5%
Hiring intentions in Singapore slightly declined for the first quarter of 2023, according to a new report, but many employers are still planning to increase headcounts and hike salaries to attract candidates.
The latest data from ManpowerGroup revealed that Singapore's net employment outlook settled at 33%, declining by three percentage points from the last quarter.
The net employment outlook is measured by subtracting the percentage of employers who anticipate reductions to staffing levels from those who plan to hire. Singapore placed first in terms of hiring optimism across Asia-Pacific economies.
Across APAC, the survey revealed an overall "strong but slowing hiring intentions" at 25%. India and Australia posted similar employment outlooks at 32%, Hong Kong recorded 23%, while Japan and Taiwan had the most cautious outlooks with eight per cent and 11%, respectively.
Hiring plans
This quarter, the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey found that 45% of over 500 surveyed employers in Singapore plan to increase their staffing numbers, 12% expect a decrease, while 39% do not expect any changes.
"Singapore's labor market is starting to show signs of cooling down amid economic uncertainties and rising costs of business operations. Nonetheless, there is still a strong demand for talent across sectors, especially in financials and real estate where companies are hiring tech talent aggressively to grow their digital financial services capabilities," said Linda Teo, ManpowerGroup Singapore country manager.
The financials and real estate sector recorded a 57% employment outlook, the strongest among the nine sectors in the report. This is followed by the energy and utilities sector (50%).
The report said "brisk hiring activity" is expected from the consumer goods and services sector (39%) and from the information technology sector (34%).
The health care and life sciences sector registered a 25% employment outlook, followed by communication services sector with 18%, indicating the "weakest" hiring optimism in terms of increasing staffing levels, according to the survey.
Pay and bonuses to go up
The report also revealed that 60% of employers plan to offer salary increases ranging from three per cent to less than five per cent this quarter.
Another 17% said they plan to offer increases between five per cent and less than seven per cent, while four per cent of employers are planning to offer salary increments of seven per cent or more.
The number of employers planning to award bonuses of one month or more to employees is also up by seven percentage points to reach 88%, according to the report.
The financials and real estate sector is forecast to be the "most generous" with bonus payouts, with 95% to award one month of more. Some 94% of employers in the transport logistics, and automotive also plan to offer bonuses of one month or more.
"Companies are increasing their compensation packages to attract and retain employees, especially in sectors where there is a high demand for manpower or high turnover," Teo said.
