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Reported by 41% of respondents, skills mismatch was the only manpower challenge that had more respondents citing it (46.2%).
Skills mismatch has overtaken difficulty hiring local talent as the leading manpower concern among employers in Singapore, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore’s (AmChamSG) 2026 Manpower Survey.
More than two in five (46.2%) of respondents identified a mismatch between employees’ skills and changing business needs as a challenge, an increase from 33.6% in 2025. This was followed by difficulty hiring local talent, cited by 41% of respondents.
This is the full set of challenges highlighted in the survey:
Despite these recruitment pressures, most employers do not expect to make significant changes to their Singapore headcount. The findings also point to differences in the capabilities employers find difficult to recruit at various career stages, as well as gaps in the development opportunities available to local employees.
Survey overview
The survey drew responses primarily from companies in the services sector, which accounted for 70.7% of respondents. Non-small and medium-sized enterprises (non-SMEs) made up 71.4% of the companies surveyed.
More than half of respondents (55.3%) reported having between zero and five HR employees in Singapore. This included companies without a local HR team. Meanwhile, 65.1% said their HR responsibilities extended beyond Singapore to cover Southeast Asia, Asia-Pacific or global operations.
Demand and manpower pressure
Most employers expect to maintain headcount
The majority of respondents (60.8%) expect their Singapore headcount to remain unchanged in the medium term, up from 53% in 2025.
Meanwhile, 25.8% plan to expand their workforce, broadly unchanged from 25% the previous year. The proportion expecting to reduce headcount fell from 22% in 2025 to 13.4% in 2026.
Skills mismatch is the leading manpower challenge
Beyond headcount plans, employers continue to face difficulties securing the talent and capabilities needed to meet business requirements.
Skills mismatch was the most frequently cited manpower issue, at 46.2%, compared with 33.6% in 2025. Difficulty hiring local talent followed at 41%, down from 46.9% the previous year.
Manpower and associated foreign talent costs, including housing and schooling expenses, were cited by 26.5% of respondents, a decrease from 31% in 2025. Around one in five (19.7%) said their companies did not face manpower challenges.
Other concerns included difficulties obtaining relevant work or dependant passes (17.9%) and meeting the requirements of the Complementarity Assessment (COMPASS) Framework for Employment Pass (EP) applications (11.1%).
Access to skilled talent remains important for investment
The availability of local and foreign talent also featured among the factors employers considered when making investment decisions in Singapore.
Business-friendly regulations were the most commonly selected consideration, cited by 73% of respondents. This was followed by having a sufficient pipeline of skilled local workers (57%) and low corporate tax rates (52%).
Access to skilled foreign manpower was also identified by 48% of respondents, while 33% pointed to safety and liveability and 26% to infrastructure and industrial space.
On government support for local manpower needs, 48.5% considered the existing support sufficient. However, 31.3% were unsure or not familiar enough with the available support, while 20.2% felt it was insufficient.
The findings also suggest that having access to government support does not necessarily resolve local recruitment difficulties. Among the 47 respondents who considered the support sufficient and answered both relevant questions, 51.1% still identified hiring local talent as a manpower issue.
When asked what additional support would help address local manpower needs, respondents most commonly called for better information about workforce programmes and easier access to and navigation of existing programmes, both selected by 34.3%.
This was followed by support to develop local employees for leadership or regional roles (33.3%), better matching of suitable local candidates to jobs (30.3%), and more flexible or customised workforce support (27.3%).
Local talent and development
Recruitment challenges differ across career stages
The difficulties employers face when recruiting Singaporeans and permanent residents vary depending on the level of experience required.
Among respondents who recruited entry-level candidates with fewer than five years of experience in 2025, unrealistic salary expectations were the most frequently cited obstacle, at 56.6%. This was followed by expectations around promotion and career advancement (47%).
A lack of technical skills was cited by 32.5%, while 27.7% pointed to a shortage of local candidates. Other concerns included employment consistency, which 14.5% identified as a red flag, and poor interview techniques (13.3%).
For experienced professionals with more than five years of experience, adaptability and resilience were the most difficult attributes to find, cited by 46.7% of respondents.
Creativity and critical thinking followed at 30.4%, while technical skills and a willingness to take risks or demonstrate an entrepreneurial mindset were each cited by 28.3%. A willingness to stay with the organisation and overseas experience were also among the areas employers found difficult to secure, at 27.2% and 25% respectively.
At the senior level, covering director positions and above, specialised skills were the most commonly reported obstacle to hiring more Singaporeans and permanent residents, at 43.1%.
A lack of overseas, global or regional exposure came a close second at 41.2%. Other challenges included soft skills (29.4%), work experience (28.4%), competition for talent (16.7%) and unattractive pay (15.7%).
Management and sales roles prove difficult to fill
The survey also examined the business functions in which employers found it difficult to recruit Singaporeans and permanent residents.
Management roles ranked highest, with 74% of respondents describing recruitment as either somewhat or very difficult. Sales followed at 72.2%, ahead of operations (65.8%) and technology and IT (61.7%).
More than half also reported difficulties recruiting for marketing roles (55.2%). The corresponding figures were 43.5% for customer service, 42.2% for finance and 40% for HR.
Training and mentorship are more common than overseas rotations
Employers reported using several approaches to develop their local workforce, with structured training programmes and mentorship among the most common.
65% of respondents said their organisations offered structured training programmes, while 60% provided mentorship with senior leaders. Management associate programmes for high-potential employees were offered by 40%.
Other approaches included pairing local employees with foreign specialists for skills transfer (26%) and providing overseas rotations to gain exposure (20%).
The limited use of overseas rotations is notable given that employers identified a lack of international or regional experience as a barrier to hiring local talent for senior positions. Among employers who cited this gap, only 26.3% offered overseas rotations to develop their local workforce.
Local employees take on regional responsibilities
The survey also looked at the representation of Singaporeans and permanent residents in regional roles.
Nearly half of respondents (49.5%) said more than half of their Singaporean and permanent resident employees based in Singapore held regional responsibilities. Separately, 44.7% reported that more than half of all their Singapore-based employees had regional roles.
Among companies with offices elsewhere in Southeast Asia, 35.2% said Singaporeans and permanent residents made up at least half of their employees in those offices. Meanwhile, 39.5% reported that local employees at director level or above accounted for more than half of their Singapore-based senior workforce.
Women's representation remains lower in senior roles
The survey also highlighted a difference in women's representation across workforce levels.
Some 48.6% of respondents said women made up the majority of their overall Singapore-based workforce. However, this fell to 29% when looking at senior employees.
Among the 52 companies with a female-majority workforce, 51.9% said women held half or fewer of their senior positions.
The findings point to a gap between women's representation across the wider workforce and their presence in senior roles.
For employers, the challenge extends beyond maintaining headcount or filling immediate vacancies. Addressing skills mismatch and strengthening the local talent pipeline will also require attention to career-stage-specific capabilities, structured development and opportunities for employees to gain the regional experience needed for more senior responsibilities.
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