A message from Linda Teo, ManpowerGroup Singapore Country Manager:

"Strong business performance for the last year and bullish business forecast are driving hiring demand in the oil and gas industry. At the same time, with Singapore moving towards greener energy sources and greater investments in renewable energy, companies in the Energy & Utilities sector are also hiring to beef up their green energy and green tech capabilities.

Despite the recent layoffs by big tech companies, demand for individuals with IT and data skills remains strong across industries, individuals with expertise in cybersecurity, user experience, database management and workplace process automation are highly sought after by companies."

Key Findings

  • Singapore’s Net Employment Outlook for Q2 2023 is +27%, strengthening by two percentage points compared to this time last year but weakening by six percentage points from the previous quarter.

  • Employers in eight of nine sectors forecast positive staffing gains, with employers in Energy & Utilities (+67%), Communication services (+59%) and Financials & Real Estate (+39%) driving the hiring demand.

  • 83% of employers surveyed report difficulty filling jobs due to lack of skilled talent, dipping 1 percentage point from last year. 

  • Critical thinking & analysis, creativity & originality and leadership & social influence skills are the top 3 soft skills in demand in Singapore. 

 

Downloads

ManpowerGroup interviewed more than 510 employers in Singapore on their hiring intentions for the second quarter of 2023. 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.

PRESS RELEASE

March 14, 2023

Hiring outlook in Singapore for Q2 2023 is expected to remain strong in spite of uncertain economic climate.

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REPORT

Read in detail the hiring plans, optimism, and concerns reported by employers for Q2 2023.

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INFOGRAPHIC

Get a graphical overview of the research findings from ManpowerGroup's latest Employment Outlook Survey.

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More Ways to View the Net Employment Outlook (NEO) Data Across 41 Countries and Territories

ManpowerGroup combines internal expertise and market-leading research with deep industry knowledge to help organizations succeed in a rapidly changing world or work.

**
EXPLORE DATA
Net Employment Outlook

* Unadjusted Data

Country

Sector/Region

Americas
Asia Pacific
Europe
Other

Net Employment Outlook FigureCanadaGermanyFranceItalyJapanUnited KingdomUnited States2021(Q1)2022(Q1)2020(Q4)2021(Q1)2021(Q2)2021(Q3)2021(Q3)2021(Q4)2022(Q1)2022(Q2)2022(Q3)-10%0%10%20%30%40%50%
QuarterCanadaGermanyFranceItalyJapanUnited KingdomUnited States
20Q40%2%2%-3%6%-8%12%
21Q14%4%-2%0%7%-4%15%
21Q210%5%8%2%5%1%19%
21Q319%13%12%10%12%13%29%
21Q432%27%35%25%14%30%46%
22Q136%33%27%26%9%34%41%
22Q237%23%21%17%8%31%35%
22Q343%23%29%23%4%35%38%
20212022NDFMAMJJASONDFMAMJJ
QuarterCanadaGermanyFranceItalyJapanUnited KingdomUnited States
20Q40%2%2%-3%6%-8%12%
21Q14%4%-2%0%7%-4%15%
21Q210%5%8%2%5%1%19%
21Q319%13%12%10%12%13%29%
21Q432%27%35%25%14%30%46%
22Q136%33%27%26%9%34%41%
22Q237%23%21%17%8%31%35%
22Q343%23%29%23%4%35%38%
Source: ManpowerGroup

Graph: Easily explore long-term patterns in the labor market by using the left-side menu to select a country and view historical data across countries, regions, and industries.

Global Map: Quickly identify the expected net hiring rate for the coming quarter by clicking on a specific country.

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.

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Related Content

ManpowerGroup combines internal expertise and market-leading research with deep industry knowledge to help organizations succeed in a rapidly changing world or work.

 

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

 

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How large is the sample worldwide?

The Q3 2022 ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey is based on interviews with more than 40,000 public and private employers in 40 countries and territories.

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What is the survey methodology?

The methodology used to collect the data for the Employment Outlook is digitized across the 40 markets, beginning with the Q1 2022 report.  
 
Respondents in previous quarters were contacted via telephone and data is now collected online with double opt-in member panels, and are incentivized to complete the survey.  
 
In line with standard findings of online surveys, more people are now taking a position – selecting that their workforce will either increase or decrease vs. no change. Because the Net Employment Outlook is based only on the people saying increase or decrease, the result of this higher level of engagement means the methodology shift may contribute to a higher Outlook. 

 

The survey data was collected in April 2022. 

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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. 

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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. 

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Who conducts the research?

Reputation Leaders is our lead research partner who analyzes data for all 40 countries and territories to ensure consistency.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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What is the best way to analyze the results? Is it better to look at quarter-over-quarter or year-over-year comparisons?

There are several ways to review the results, which are reported for 40 countries and territories, and specific industries and regions within each. The current results, including the Net Employment Outlook, provides a snapshot of employers’ expectations for the coming three months. Comparing this result to the previous quarter provides a short-term perspective of hiring expectations in a particular country or sector, while comparing to the previous year gives a longer-term view on employer intentions. The Employment Outlook Survey Data Explorer (above) is a helpful tool to explore these trends over a ten-year period and compare regions, countries and industry sectors.

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