The number of job vacancies in Singapore declined for the third consecutive quarter for the quarter ended December 2022 to 104,500, according to the Ministry of Manpower. Despite the decline it remained above the same level in December 2019 (pre-pandemic).

Data from the Ministry also showed that the total number of job vacancies rose in FY 2022 when compared to 2021.

According to the research, following the significant relaxation of border restrictions in April 2022, non-resident employment growth has recovered strongly as employers backfilled their vacancies.

The proportion of replacement vacancies rose from 56% in 2021 to 61% in 2022. At the same time, the number of vacancies for new positions rose compared to 2019 as businesses continued to expand or restructure. Like the year before, Information & Communications (69%) had the highest proportion of vacancies for new positions.

PMET (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians) positions formed the majority of the vacancies in 2022 (56%), up from 53% in 2021. This reflects manpower demand for skilled workers from the growth sectors of Information & Communications, Financial & Insurance Services, Professional Services and Health & Social Services.

While the share of non-PMET job vacancies dipped, the number of these vacancies increased in 2022 as employers sought to backfill positions, especially in Construction and Manufacturing.

Meanwhile, the proportion of vacancies unfilled for at least six months declined from 35% in 2021 to 27% in 2022. This decline was observed across both PMET and non-PMET vacancies. Non-PMET vacancies registered a sharper decline compared to PMET vacancies as employers were able to hire foreign workers to back-fill these vacancies.

For PMET roles that were difficult to fill, the main reasons cited by employers were unattractive pay, lack of specialised skills and lack of necessary work experience, particularly for positions requiring specialised, technical knowledge.

For non-PMET positions that were difficult to fill, employers commonly indicated reasons such as a physically strenuous job nature, and a non-conductive work environment.