Singapore’s jobseekers remain interested in jobs mentioning remote work or work from home (WFH), however employers are less likely to mention 'work from home' in the job ads they post on Indeed.

Indeed’s data showed that in May 2023, 6.6% of job postings explicitly mention phrases such as 'work from home' or 'remote work' in their job descriptions. That figure has drifted upwards this year but remains well below the levels observed in late 2021.

On the other hand, jobseeker interest in remote work remains high, with 3.5% of searches, or one in every 28 searches, using remote keywords. Outside of generic terms like 'full-time' or 'part-time', remote work and similar phrases are consistently among Singapore's most popular search terms.

Callam Pickering, APAC Senior Economist at Indeed, said, “Jobseekers continue to value the flexibility offered by remote work. It'll be interesting to see whether this apparent disconnect between employers and jobseekers hampers the ability of some employers to attract suitable candidates going forward.”

Overall, the number of job postings on Indeed fell by 1.2% compared to the previous month. This was the seventh consecutive month of declines. On an annual basis, job postings decreased by 16.5%.

Pickering told Digital News Asia that the Singapore economy contracted in the first quarter, and the decline in job postings is the first real sign of that impacting the jobs market. Singapore's unemployment rate is at 1.8% but will likely drift higher over the remainder of the year.

While postings have fallen significantly over the past year, job postings for every occupational category are still above pre-pandemic levels.

Pickering told The Economic Times, “Singapore’s labour market is still incredibly tight with strong demand for worker and low unemployment. Nevertheless, job posting volumes continue to decline, down for seven consecutive months. A more challenging economic environment, including a global slowdown, will likely lead to a further decline in job postings over the remainder of the year.”