Hiring prospects in Singapore to soar

There is good news for both employers and job seekers, as this year's local Q4 hiring prospects are among the strongest globally.

A quarter of 700 workers surveyed by Manpower said they expect to see an increase in hiring, with only 4% predicting a decrease.

With 65% of employees expecting no change in hiring intentions, the net employment outlook for the next three months stands at 21%, and 20% when seasonally adjusted.

"Employers report a quarter-over-quarter improvement of 6% points and the outlook is also 2% points stronger when compared with 4Q 2012," the report said.

Sectors with the strongest hiring expectations are finance, insurance and real estate (36%); and public administration and education (34%). The two sectors also had the highest improvements of 22% and 21% respectively.

However, the transportation and utilities sector was the weakest, with job prospects of only 12%, and 9% when seasonally adjusted.

Among 42 economies and cities, Singapore came in fourth behind India, Taiwan and Panama, which had outlooks of 40%, 37% and 24% respectively.

Among countries in Asia Pacific, the outlook in Australia (3%) reached its lowest level in more than four years.

Globally, the weakest hiring intentions came from Italy (-17%), Spain (-7%) and Finland (-6%).

"Overall, it appears that employers are carefully considering their options, and many are evidently prepared to adopt a wait-and-see attitude toward further hiring until they see clearer resolution to ongoing uncertainty in the marketplace," the report said.