Survey Shows 1 in 5 Companies in S’pore Going to Hire More in 2021

Currently unemployed and worried for the immediate future? Concerned that the number of available jobs is outnumbered by the number of jobseekers out there?

Well, as long as you’re willing to put yourself out there and work hard, 2021 might just be the year for you.

Survey Shows 1 in 5 Companies in S’pore Going to Hire More in 2021

According to a survey released by recruitment agency ManpowerGroup, 1 in 5 companies (about 20%) are not just prepared, but looking to hire more employees in 2021.

The first three months of 2021, to be exact.

Other findings of the survey are equally optimistic:

• 66% expects no change to their headcounts (no job hires but no job losses either)
• 4% expects a decrease in total employment

After taking everything into consideration, there’s a 15% increase in the net employment outlook in 2021.

The net employment outlook is obtained by subtracting the percentage of employers who expects a decrease in employment from the percentage of employers who expects an increase.

That’s a 17% increase from the last quarter and the strongest recorded for Singapore in the past six years.

Positive Among All Sectors

According to ManpowerGroup Singapore country manager Linda Teo, hiring outlook was positive in all of the seven sectors surveyed.

However, if you want to know where’s the strongest outlook at, it’s in mining and construction, services and transportation and utilities.

This, Ms Teo says, is reflective of the change in consumer behaviour.

For example, with more people shopping online, logistics companies are going all out in hiring for business, commercial, technology and operational roles to meet the increased demands.

However, she cautioned, the return to pre-Covid-19 hiring levels will be gradual (read: slow).

That’s because employers are now more careful to keep their hiring “fluid” so that they can react quickly to changes, something that Covid-19 has been known to throw at businesses from time to time.

Other than having more jobs on the market, the outlook also shows that employers are confident that Singapore has managed to keep the coronavirus situation here under control.

Second-Strongest Among APAC Countries

The survey also recorded the net employment outlook from six other Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries.

Hong Kong has the poorest record at -2% while China, Japan and India recorded a net employment outlook of between 5% and 10%.

Taiwan recorded the strongest outlook in this survey at 23%, followed by Singapore.

In other words, there are opportunities out there waiting for you to grab next year. Don’t say we bojio, eh?

Featured Image: Igor Plotnikov / Shutterstock.com