Singapore Remains Steady on the Path to Recovery
As Singapore was one of the earliest countries to reopen its borders in 2022, we saw its unemployment figures fall at an impressive pace. In fact, by November of last year, the unemployment rate stood at 1.9%, surpassing pre-Covid levels.
Singapore opening its doors to the world coupled with foreign-talent-friendly immigration policies have played a major part in its quick recovery. 2022 also saw a number of companies moving their business operations to Singapore due to the ease of doing business there as well as the island-nation’s strong currency.
However, by late 2022, Singapore saw a drop in economic growth due to fears of a predicted recession. Compared to a growth rate of 3.5% last year, Singapore’s economy is expected to grow by 0.5% – 2.5% in 2023. The silver lining to this is that while businesses may exercise more caution when hiring, they will also focus more on utilising their existing talent in the most efficient ways.
Another crucial point that jobseekers can rejoice in is that salary increments this year are expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels – going as high as 20% across the board. Despite the fact that Singapore’s economic growth may be slightly hindered this year, it is expected to quickly bounce back. Being a top destination for business expansions as well as having the right infrastructure, particularly in tech, e-commerce and the life sciences, Singapore is expected to retain its spot as a key Asian business hub.
Learn more in our Salary Guide as we take a look at changing work trends, performance of the job market and projected salaries and bonuses.
Highlights from the 2023 Singapore Salary Guide:
- Singapore’s labour market is one of the most candidate driven markets in APAC with unemployment levels dropping to almost historical lows of 2% as of Q4 of 2022.
- Digitisation will play a huge part in Banking, Finance and Accounting’s growth, given that Singapore has the highest average transaction value for digital payments in Southeast Asia. The nation is also among the most advanced nations in terms of adopting cashless payments in the region.
- Similar to Hong Kong, Singapore is also expected to see a boom in its life sciences market even after the pandemic. This is largely due to their infrastructure and technological advancements.
- The Singaporean Government has introduced a number of schemes to attract the world’s best talent and will also overhaul the employment pass application process with the new Complimentary Assessment Framework (COMPASS) that starts on 1 September 2023.
- A greater need for Information Technology (IT) candidates with skills such as software design, user experience design and software testing, as the demand for these has increased between 86% – 100% in the last four years.
- The e-commerce sector is expected to grow exponentially due to the convenience factor, but also because Singapore has the right sourcing and supply chain facilities to support that growth.
- Temporary and contracting jobs are expected to increase, especially as contractors make up a large part of Singapore’s workforce. As a talent shortage has started in Singapore, companies may be more willing to offer part-time/flexible working options to remedy a lack of manpower.
Download the 2023 Singapore Salary Guide for Free Now
Businesses are transitioning to a new era as the future of work changes! If you are interested in seeing how different businesses are approaching the new world of work, which job functions are performing the best, or whether your salary is in line with the market, download our Singapore Salary Guide for free to find out now!
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