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Beyond cost pressures, employers also highlighted deeper concerns over growing disruption to global business and trade, with supply chains being reshaped and investment decisions becoming more cautious.
Employers remain wary about the business outlook, with 39% of respondents expecting conditions to worsen over the next six to 12 months, according to the Singapore National Employers Federation’s latest snap poll conducted earlier this month.
This caution is being driven by both immediate cost pressures and deeper concerns about global disruption.
According to the poll, 96% of respondents are facing higher operating costs amid higher energy prices, and more than half (53%) are concerned about rising manpower cost pressures.
Within the 96% of respondents:
- 36% reported slight cost increases of 1% to 10%,
- 41% reported moderate cost increases of 11% to 25%, and
- 19% reported significant cost increases exceeding 25%.
The most affected operating cost components have been utilities (70%), fuel (70%), materials and supplies (59%), and air and sea freight (53%).
Respondents also raised concerns that higher energy prices were having a knock-on effect on business operations. Beyond direct increases in utilities and fuel expenses, businesses were also facing higher costs for raw materials, supplies, and logistics.
Respondents in the hospitality, food & beverage, and retail sectors also reported upward pressure on temporary labour costs as market adjusts to the higher-cost environment. Taken together, these pressures were said to be squeezing margins, especially amid softer consumer demand.
When asked what forms of support would be most useful should energy prices remain elevated over the next 12 months, employers identified three clear priorities:
- Business cost support such as tax relief or financing assistance (83%),
- Energy cost relief and subsidies (77%), and
- Delaying manpower policy changes that would add further cost pressures (55%).
Beyond the immediate cost pressures, employers also highlighted deeper concerns over growing disruption to global business and trade, noting that supply chains are being redrawn and investment decisions are becoming increasingly cautious.
Despite these challenges, most employers have not yet made major changes to their workforce. In particular, the poll found that 83% of respondents have not implemented workforce or workplace changes in direct response to higher energy prices, suggesting that most employers are exploring operational adjustments before resorting to measures that directly affect their employees.
Among the 17% of respondents who have implemented workforce or workplace changes, the most common measures were:
- hiring freezes or delayed expansion plans (67%),
- staff redeployment or cross-training (33%), and
- headcount reduction through natural attrition (33%).
Other measures included reductions in bonuses, allowances or benefits (25%), and reductions in work hours, overtime or shifts (19%). According to SNEF, these are largely calibrated responses aimed at managing costs while preserving jobs.
Sharing his views on the poll findings, Hao Shuo, CEO, SNEF said they indicate that employers continue to be concerned over manpower costs amid escalating energy prices, which are driving up overall operating expenses.
"As the global economic situation remains quite fluid, we hope that the Government will consider the prevailing economic conditions when implementing the earlier announced foreign manpower policy changes and also introduce a tiered level of support under the enhanced Progressive Wage Credit Scheme to help employers that are raising wages for their lower-wage workers.”
The snap poll was conducted between 10 and 16 April 2026, involving a total of 210 companies across the manufacturing, services, and construction sectors.
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