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Singapore leads the way in regional online recruitment activity: Monster

SINGAPORE (Nov 20): Singapore is set to continue on its upward hiring trajectory this year given its strong position in the market, as highlighted by the third quarterly Monster Employment Index (MEI) report by Monster, the online career & recruitment platform.

According to the Monster MEI report, overall online hiring activity in Singapore remained on an upward trend with 2% growth for 3Q, in line with the doubling of overall employment growth in the same period compared to the previous three months.

Monster also notes that when it comes to demand for online recruitment, Singapore enjoyed a leading position among its Southeast Asian peers with its especially-strong growth in the IT sector as well as in the financial industry.

Citing recent figures from the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Monster attributes the positive hiring sentiment partially to the positive growth of Singapore’s economy as a whole.

This comes as national GDP growth performed slightly better than forecast, growing by 2.6% over the past three months although this growth remained slower than in the first half of 2018.

While the government is expecting a slower overall growth rate in 2H, the report highlights Singapore as the second most competitive country in the world – as well as the city state’s leading position in the infrastructure pillar, globally, with “near-perfect connectivity”, according to the World’s Economic Forum’s annual competitive survey.

On the sector hiring level within Singapore, Banking, financial services & insurance (BFSI) continued to excel in 3Q with 4% growth in online hiring demand.

Despite the more moderate m-o-m trajectory, Monster notes the sector recorded double-digit growth when compared on a y-o-y basis, and concludes that all signs are indicating positive growth for BFSI in the quarters to come.

Advertising, market research, public relations, media & entertainment exhibited the most notable sector growth in 3Q at 9% in comparison to a more stagnant 1H18. Month on month, the sector grew 2% for July and Aug, and 5% in Sept.

Looking at the past quarter, Monster believes the remainder of the year looks positive for this sector considering how prominent marketing communication and advertising networks recorded organic growth.

On the contrary, healthcare professionals saw the most prominent decline in online recruitment activity among accusations, falling 4% from the previous quarter.

“While technology and its innovative transformations are major economic drivers, companies [in Singapore] need to continue to invest in the skill sets of its employees as well as develop their businesses alongside in order to deliver the promise that technology can offer,” says Monster.