The number of jobs available in Singapore rose 8% in Q2 2021 when compared to Q1 2021. This was led by an increase in Industrial & Manufacturing at 60%, according to research from Michael Page Singapore.

The research also showed an increase in opportunities within Sales & Marketing (up 41%) and Digital (up 33%).

Nilay Khandelwal, Managing Director, Michael Page Singapore said, “This marked increase in employment within industrial & manufacturing is due to growth plans across semiconductor chip manufacturers, capital equipment as well as electronics makers. The job functions in-demand are varied across front-end roles such as design professionals, testing/verification to back-end roles such as packaging, field support and quality management."

“Automation and digitalisation remain a key focus for most organisations and there has been a consistent demand for automation professionals,” Khandelwal said. “Due to the active technical employment market right now, job seekers are more inclined to make a job move hence many companies are replacing their headcount as well as hiring for their expansion plans at the same time.”

According to Michael Page, an 11% rise in contracting job opportunities was also observed from Q1 2021 to Q2 2021 which indicates an ‘encouraging shift’ towards agile hiring in Singapore.

Khandelwal added, "In these times of uncertainty, fixed-term professional hiring provides a lot of flexibility and a variety of experience in a short time. Contracting has proven itself to be a viable solution to headcount limits or project hire, and can save cost and improve the flexibility of the workforce."