Local companies are intending to hire in the first half of this year to capitalise on growth opportunities, with 48% looking to increase hiring/staff strength by 5% to 10%. Many companies are also planning salary increases.
This is according to the Hiring Trends 1H 2011 Report by Achieve Group, which recently polled over 500 companies to find out their predictions on economic growth and their hiring plans during this period. The report also surveyed respondents on whether they believe it will be easier to hire foreign workers after the upcoming General Elections this year.
Industry Hiring Outlook
The Report classified the participating companies into nine main sectors. Of which, the top sectors that intend to hire in 1H 2011 are Professional Services, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, and Industrial Manufacturing & Engineering. This contrasts with the second half of 2010, when the top industries hiring were IT & Telecommunications, Oil & Gas and Professional Services, according to the ACHIEVE Group’s Hiring Trends Report 2H 2010.
Banking & Finance Hiring/Jobs
51% of those in the Banking & Finance sector said that they would be hiring in 1H 2011 while 49% do not intend to hire.
Healthcare & Pharmaceutical Hiring/Jobs
Slightly more respondents (56%) in the Healthcare & Pharmaceutical industry are planning to hire while 44% are not.
IT & Telecommunications Hiring/Jobs
A slight majority (59%) in the IT & Telecommunications sector are not intending to expand their workforce. However, 41% are planning to expand.
Hospitality, Retail & F&B Hiring/Jobs
45% of those surveyed in Hospitality, Retail & F&B are planning to boost headcounts while 55% are not.
Shipping & Logistics Hiring/Jobs
The majority (64%) in this sector do not plan to hire, with only 36% intending to grow their staff numbers.
Industrial Manufacturing & Engineering Hiring/Jobs
54% of respondents in the Industrial Manufacturing & Engineering industry are expecting to hire more workers while 46% are not.
Oil & Gas Hiring/Jobs
In the Oil & Gas sector, 65% do not intend to hire while the minority of 35% do.
Professional Services Hiring/Jobs
59% of those in the Professional Services sector are planning to hire while 41% are not.
Property & Construction Hiring/Jobs
Just over half of those surveyed (54%) said they would be hiring while 46% said they would not.
“[Companies] are demonstrating a lot of confidence for the future – as exemplified by the more positive indications to hire,” Joshua Yim, founder and chief executive officer of ACHIEVE Group, said.
Additionally, companies are also planning to provide salary increases/increments for new hires.
Out of the 500 local companies polled, 41% indicated intent to offer salary increases of 5% to 10% to new employees. One in 10 expect to give salary increases of more than 15%.
But local companies are finding it challenging to hire foreign workers in Singapore because of the new governmental quota. Three fifths are expecting the hiring of foreigners in Singapore to be even tougher until after the upcoming General Elections.
About 70% of companies are expecting economic growth of 3% to 5%, with only 20% of companies anticipating less than 5% growth in the first half of 2011.
