Online recruitment in Singapore grew by 25% in October 2021 compared to October 2020, according to data from the Monster Employment Index.

The Monster Employment Index stood at 141 in October 2021 compared to 113 in October 2020.

Month-on-month, the Index saw an increase of 2% in hiring activity.

Monster noted that in the last three months, it recorded a sequential growth of 4%.

Online hiring demand in October 2021 exceeded the October 2020 level in 12 of the 14 industries monitored by the Index.

BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) (41%), IT, Telecom/ISP and BPO/ITES (29%), and Education (26%), industries continue to drive hiring, being the top three in the e-recruitment activity on a year-on-year basis.

Government/ PSU (public service undertaking/defence (-10%) reported a decline while Shipping/Marine (0%) was flat in October.

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

Software, hardware, telecom (54%) saw the most significant year-on-year growth in e-recruitment among industries. This was followed by finance & accounts (47%) and legal (39%) professionals, which also led to this uptick in overall hiring trends.

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