The hiring intentions of Singapore businesses have rebounded for the second half of the year, reversing the downward trend of the recent quarters, according to the latest Hudson Report: Employment Trends released today.

Nearly half of employers (47.3%) intend to increase headcount over the next six months, up by +7.8 percentage points (pp) from the first quarter, while intentions to decrease headcount are down -3.8pp to 3.5%.

Emmanuel White, Regional Director of Hudson Singapore, commented: “Growing business sentiment is having a positive effect on the recruitment market. Business confidence is high on the back of a healthy expansion in the global economy and the expected growth of Singapore’s GDP at [between] +2% to +4% for 2014.”

“Compared to a year ago, the picture is much more positive. We’ve gone from headcount freezes to companies now looking to expand their workforce and open roles are being replaced immediately. It’s encouraging to see the upbeat hiring sentiment with most industries in Singapore, but the marketplace remains challenging and uncertainties in the global macroeconomic environment remain,” he added.

Mr White added: “The new Fair Consideration Framework, which will come into effect in the coming August, sets out stricter rules on hiring of foreign professionals with an objective to urge all employers to consider Singaporeans fairly in filling jobs. It pushes businesses to reconsider their strategy in attracting and maintaining a competitive workforce to ride the wave of growth.”

Hiring intentions by sector

• Banking & Financial Services is the industry seeing the strongest hiring intentions - 56.3% of employers intend to hire more staff in the second half of the year, up +6.3pp from Q1 2014.
• IT & Telecommunications (IT&T) and Manufacturing & Industry rank second and third with positive hiring intentions standing at 52.4% and 43.6% respectively.
• Employment expectation continues to decline within the Consumer sector - 42% of employers are looking to increase headcount, down by -1.2pp from Q1.
• Healthcare & Life Sciences has the lowest hiring intentions among all surveyed industries – 41.9% of employers are looking to increase headcount.

Mr White continued: “It is encouraging to see the sustained upbeat sentiment with Banking & Financial Service - the sector has maintained an upward trend in positive hiring intentions since Q3 2013, reflecting an increase in confidence of local banking businesses, as well as reaffirming Singapore’s position as the regional hub of banking and financial services.”

The growing demand is mainly driven by a focus on business critical roles; such as compliance & risk and front office relationship positions. Insurance is also an important growth area, he noted. “The most valued candidates are those who have both deep knowledge of the local market and strong regional experiences.”

IT&T has reversed the pessimism in the previous two quarters and posted a strong growth (+10.1pp) in hiring intentions heading into the second half of the year. “Expertise in SAP, security, and supply chain continues to be hot,” said Mr White. “Although technical skills are highly valued, we’ve also seen an emerging trend that is driving the demand for IT professionals with business partnering skills.”

Organisations are in need of IT people who can go to the frontline of business, leveraging their technical knowledge to optimise process, support sales, and create value. “These roles require not only a command of good technical skills, but also business acumen, strategic thinking, and a deep knowledge of the industry,” he said.

Mr White stated: “In Manufacturing & Industrial, we are seeing significant job growth from chemical, oil & gas, medical devices, and pharmaceutical industries. Demand is high for trade compliance roles as organisations increase their focus on regulatory compliance across South East Asia. Skills in transfer pricing are also valued as companies look to make the most of tax breaks.”

The downward trend continues in the Consumer sector, but the decline has been moderated from a drop of -5.7pp in Q1 to -1.2pp, indicating less pessimism on the employment outlook over the second half of the year. More employers (54.3%) are looking to keep headcount steady.

“As major players in the sector continue to reduce redundancies to react more swiftly to the market, we expect to see continued conservative hiring sentiment with Consumer in the next few months. However, critical roles; such as product, brand marketing, and management, still have good opportunities,” Mr White concluded.