ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey
Get insights on Singapore employers’ hiring plans across 9 industry sectors for the third quarter of 2024!
Read the ReportA message from Ms. Linda Teo, ManpowerGroup Singapore Country Manager
“Green initiatives driving domestic emission reduction are expected to boost job growth in Singapore's Transport, Logistics & Automotive sector. With investments flowing into the transition to electric vehicles (EV), companies are actively seeking skilled talent proficient in EV management and charging infrastructure navigation. In light of today's talent shortage and rapid technological advancements, employers may find it beneficial to prioritize soft skills, particularly adaptability and learning agility, when making hiring decisions. Coupled with a focus on upskilling and reskilling initiatives, this approach can help bridge the skills gap and meet the evolving demands of the workforce.”
Key Findings
- Hiring Outlooks in Singapore dip for the third consecutive quarter: Singapore’s NEO for Q3 is +20%, weakening 4 percentage points from last quarter and 14 percentage points year-over-year. While 8 out of 9 sectors reported positive hiring outlooks, hiring sentiments are weaker in 6 sectors when compared to Q2.
- Hiring demand in Singapore to be led by the Transport, Logistics & Automotive sector: The sector reports a robust Outlook of +47%, improving by 22 percentage points from last quarter and 28 percentage points from this time last year. Notably, Singapore’s Transport, Logistics & Automotive’s Outlook ranks second globally, behind Ireland (+50%).
- Majority of Singapore employers keeping up with tech advancements: More than half of Singapore employers say they have already adopted AI, including generative AI and ML.
- Having better technology tools is the most effective way to engage the newer workforce: Employers report improving technology tools (78%) and an emphasis on wellbeing (78%) as the most effective ways to engage the newer generation and increase their productivity.
Downloads
ManpowerGroup interviewed 525 employers in Singapore on their hiring intentions for Q3 2024.
Download our press release, infographic and report to learn more about the survey results and take a deeper dive into global trends and key findings.
Find The Talent and Solutions You Need
To discuss the results personally or explore how ManpowerGroup can help you find the talent and solutions needed to propel your organization forward, contact us today.
Past ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Reports
About the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey
What is the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey?
The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey measures employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the upcoming quarter. It is the most extensive forward-looking survey of its kind, unparalleled in its size, scope and longevity. The Survey has been running since 1962 and is one of the most trusted indicators of labor market trends in the world.
What questions do you ask in the survey?
All the data in the survey is based on the answer to one question: How do you anticipate total employment at your location to change in the coming three months as compared to the current quarter?
In addition to the main employment question, the survey asks up to six additional questions which change quarterly. These questions reflect changing economic or workforce dynamics and trends. Topic areas range from talent shortage to workforce training and development to employee sentiments and well-being.
What is meant by Net Employment Outlook (NEO)?
The Net Employment Outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers that expect to see a decrease in employment at their location in the next quarter. A positive Net Employment Outlook figure means that, on balance, there are more employers who expect to add to their headcount in the following three months than those who intend to reduce staff.
Does the survey provide data on planned employment changes?
The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey only measures if employers expect to hire or not and does not provide information about specific job changes. The Survey is a forecast, not a commitment, based on informed opinions from employers and hiring managers on what will likely happen in their organization in the following quarter.
How large is the sample worldwide?
The Q3 2024 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is based on interviews with 40,374 public and private employers in 42 countries.
What is the survey methodology?
Respondents in previous quarters were contacted via telephone. Data is now collected online with double opt-in member panels and they are incentivized to complete the survey.
How are companies selected for the survey?
Employers are selected based on the types of companies and organizations they represent. We want to ensure that our panel is representative of each participating country’s national labor market, so each country’s panel is built in proportion to that country’s overall distribution of industry sectors and organization sizes.
Who do you interview in each company?
The person we select to interview will be someone with a good overview of staffing levels and hiring intentions within their organization. Normally this will be the head of HR or an HR manager. However, in smaller organizations, that person may be a general manager or even the CEO.
Who conducts the research?
Reputation Leaders is our lead research partner who analyzes data for all 42 countries and territories to ensure consistency.
Can you explain the Margin of Error calculation?
By their very nature, surveys are imperfect measures. All surveys have a margin of error, which is largely determined by the number of interviews completed. For the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey, the minimum panel size in each country and territory is 620 to ensure a margin of error no greater than +/-3.9%. This prevents undue distortion of the data because of one respondent changing their response from one quarter to the next. No single panel member represents more than 2% of the total sample in an industry sector or region.
Why do you seasonally adjust the data?
Seasonal adjustment is a statistical process that allows the Survey data to be presented without the impact of hiring fluctuations that normally occur through the course of the year, usually as a result of various external factors, such changes in weather, traditional production cycles and public holidays. Seasonal adjustment has the effect of flattening peaks and smoothing troughs in the data to better illustrate underlying employment trends and provide a more accurate representation of the ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey results.
How do you know if hiring intentions reported come to fruition?
ManpowerGroup does not track retrospective hiring trends as part of the Employment Outlook Survey, only forward-looking expectations. However, we are able to see that the Survey results do align with employment trends reported by governments and other organizations quite closely and provide one of the most robust and trusted indicators of forward-looking labor market trends in the world.