Singapore bosses less likely to hire in first half of 2015

Employers in Singapore are remaining cautious about hiring in the first half of 2015, due to a lack of demand from the Eurozone and China slowing down growth.

According to the Hudson Report H1 2015 on hiring expectations locally, just 37% of the 352 employers surveyed expect to increase headcount in the first half of the year, 6.8% less than the second half of 2014.

Hiring intentions have dropped across all industries except for ICT, which has shown continuous growth over the past year as companies continue to make large investments in their IT systems and functions.

“A slowdown in growth due to lack of demand from the Eurozone and China has affected certain industries whilst others will fare strongly on the back of US growth," said Emmanuel White, general manager of  Hudson Singapore.

"Whilst we are seeing reduced activity in the banking and financial services industry, hiring intentions in the ICT sector are very strong heading into 2015," he added.

The ICT sector - where 52.4% of employers intend to increase headcount - has seen the strongest hiring intentions in three years, since a net 57% in Q3 2011 - an increase of 7.3% from H2 2014.

An increase in demand can be seen in roles related to emerging technologies, data security as well as big data roles. The demand for talent is also high on the service provider side, with most industries placing emphasis on mobility and virtualisation.

The banking and financial services industry, despite seeing the biggest drop (13.8%) in hiring intentions from H2 2014, has the second highest hiring intentions of 36.2%. A keen focus has been placed on compliance and regulatory roles, as banks undergo international regulatory reform.

The sector with the third strongest hiring intentions is the manufacturing and industrial sector at 33%. Real growth can be seen in roles such as quality engineers, category managers and sales focused on medical devices, as Singapore invests in positioning itself as a global medical technology hub.

Other sectors the report mentioned are the consumer sector and the healthcare and life sciences sector with 31.^% and 25.6% of employers looking to increase headcount respectively.

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