Singapore - Due to the recession, several industries have lowered salaries and adopted a cautious hiring approach.
While salaries in resilient industries like healthcare have remained stable, there has been a drop in salary levels for industries such as engineering, sales and marketing, and logistics and warehousing.
Engineering managers in the manufacturing industry saw a 18% drop in their monthly salaries, while warehouse supervisors also experienced a 11% drop. Employees in the retail industry received 6% to 7% lower base salaries as compared to 2008.
Industries like healthcare, biotechnology, energy and outsourcing have remained resilient in the economic downturn due to the continued demand for talent, says Kelly Services. The healthcare industry is expected to continue hiring as the need for skill-specific talent remains relatively high.
Though the IT and telecommunications industry has slowed hiring this year, the need for skill-specific talent remains strong due to initiatives aiming to propel Singapore as an IT hub. Job-specific skills in new media technology also face high demand due to the rapid development of technology.
The banking and finance industry has suffered a hit from the global crisis and financial institutions have adopted a cautious hiring approach.
Dhirendra Shantilal, Asia Pacific senior vice president of Kelly Services, says salary trends and expectations have changed over the last 30 years. "From lifetime employment, we have now moved to performance-based packages from the top to the middle management and the executive level," says Shantilal. There is also an increasing acceptance of the importance of talent management, and the motivating and retaining of passionate people in the organisation.
“While there are many opportunities for strong and experienced talent as well as new graduates, we expect a year of cautious hiring. Singapore’s tepid employment climate and outlook means that remuneration will remain competitive and more organisations will choose performance-based incentives over bonuses to reward employees," says Shantilal.
