HIRING UNEMPLOYMENT
Singapore - While many employers remain cautious, the unemployment situation in Singapore is starting to ease.
The most recent Manpower Employment Outlook survey showed a reading of 5% from minus 43% in the second quarter, indicating there are more employers expecting to hire than cut back in the third quarter.
"There has definitely been an improvement over the past few months," says Josh Goh, assistant director of corporate services at GMP. "Instead of contract positions which were very common over the past few months, we are seeing more permanent positions...It shows that clients are more confident of hiring."
According to experts, sectors like finance and accounting, information and technology, engineering, health care and retail are slowly recovering. However, industries like shipping and semiconductors are still struggling to stay afloat. Also, workers with specialised skill sets are finding difficulty securing jobs.
While job vacancies are increasing recently, there is also more competition. Machine manufacturer Makino Asia did not freeze its research and development hiring during the downturn, and saw an increase of 40% in job applicants in the past few months.
"We are more selective now because everyone counts. Applicants have to be outstanding and a lot more prepared," says Lim Poh Leng, Makino's human resource section manager.
Similarly, GMP was "seeing an increase in job applications over the last six months compared to before the recession, for every advertised job".
However, "companies still remain cautious about hiring extra staff, because from a business perspective they don't know what will happen in the future," says Paul Heng, founder and managing director of NeXt Career Consulting Group.
"Job seekers need to take unconventional approaches and not rely on jobs that are in the open market, that are publicised, but also try to find jobs in the hidden market," says Heng in a report by The Straits Times.
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