Good news for local jobseekers

Half of employers in Singapore are expecting to increase headcount in the first half of this year.

As business leaders across professional sectors in Singapore remain confident of the country’s economic growth in H1 2013, 58% expect business conditions to stay level or improve, Michael Page found.

Andrew Norton, regional managing director of PageGroup in Southeast Asia, said as Singapore continues to cement its status as a growth hub for organisations’ Asia operations, more employers are looking to increase staff strength.

Of the 46% who have expressed interest to hire, 53% said they will be increase staff numbers by 5% and a third are hoping to boost figures by between 5% and 10%.

“In particular, professionals in procurement and supply chain will be increasingly required as organisations focus on improving business efficiency and as company headquarters set up logistics centres locally,” Norton said.

Employers in Singapore will also continue to build on their attraction and retention strategies, with 47% of employers offering attractive salary packages to attract top talent and 46% providing performance based rewards.

“While financial reward and remuneration remain key for attraction and retention strategies, training and career development opportunities also continue to be a focus for employers during the first half of the year, according to the survey responses,” Norton said.