According to a recent report from the MOM, growth in the Singaporean employment market is expected to stay weakened.
This will prove to be a tough year for job seekers in Singapore, as the report paints a difficult picture for the 2016 local employment market.
As reported by MOM, Singapore workforce growth is predicted to stay soft on the back of demographic effects, with the foreign workforce growth remaining muted.
Wages are also expected to grow at a slower pace, as compared to 2015.
MOM’s report projects that the overall labour demand in 2016 will remain modest throughout the year.
Construction, in particular, is expected to be affected. Due to fewer awarded contracts in 2015, and an overall sluggish performance in the private construction sector, few new job opportunities are expected to arise.
The manufacturing sector is also expected to be poorly affected in 2016. Both marine and offshore segments of the industry are expected to be weakened over the year. Further cancellations and deferments remain a possibility for many current projects in the sector as well.
In addition to this, lower oil prices have weakened the prospects for any kind of new development in the area. For firms in the precision engineering cluster in particular, there may be negative spillover effects, for those supporting the O&G market.
Of the few industries that are projected to have a good year in 2016, the services sector shines the brightest. Community, personal services, and social services sectors are estimated to receive a newly enlivened demand for talent, especially in the healthcare segment of the industry.
In sectors which are reliant on external demand, restructuring and redundancies are expected to occur. However, domestic-oriented service sectors, such as food and beverage services, community, social, and personal services, are expected to stay reliant on new labor needs.
Due to the cyclical weakness, and the economic restructuring happening in Singapore, MOM has predicted occasional consolidation, and even exiting of businesses in the country over 2016.
Singapore is currently experiencing its highest number of redundancies since the 2009 Global Financial Crisis.
MOM explains that it intends to strengthen employment support. It also plans to support in the assistance of helping displaced locals re-enter employment within the Singaporean workforce.
