Online recruitment in Singapore rose by 13% in March 2022 compared to March 2021, according to the latest Monster Employment Index.

The Monster Employment Index (MEI) increased to 149 in March 2022 from 132 in March 2021.

Month-on-month saw growth of 4% in hiring activity. Recruitment demand recorded a sequential growth of 6% in last six months.

Online hiring demand in March 2022 exceeded March 2021 level in 11 of the 14 industries monitored by the Index.

By industry, the Education (23%), Advertising, Market Research, Public Relations, Media and Entertainment (16%) and Banking Financial Services and Insurance (+14%) industries recorded the sharpest increases in the e-recruitment activity on an annual basis.

The government/PSU (public service undertaking)/ Defence (-8%) industry marked the lowest growth followed by the Consumer Goods /FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) (-6%), Import/ Export (-6%) and Oil & Gas (-1%) industries recorded decreases among other monitored industries in March 2022 from the year-ago level.

Online demand for professionals saw an annual upsurge for all of the 12 functional areas monitored by the Index.

Software, Hardware, Telecom (34%) saw robust growth among all monitored functional areas in March 2022 from the year-ago level. This was followed by Finance & Accounts (31%) and Legal (26%) professionals which noticed sequential rise in demand.

Real Estate (+8%), Sales & Business Development (+9%), and Customer Service (+9%) witnessed the lowest demand annually in e-recruitment activity.

The Index is a broad and comprehensive monthly and quarterly analysis of online job posting activity conducted by Monster.