Singaporeans less willing to work abroad: Jobstreet

Only 44% of Singaporeans are willing to work abroad.

There has been a sharp decline in the willingness of Singaporeans to work abroad, according to the latest study by employment website Jobstreet.

Only 44% of Singaporeans want to work abroad in 2020, according to the Singapore edition of Jobstreet's Decoding Global Talent report. This is a sharp decline from the 70% recorded in the last survey conducted in 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jobstreet attributed this sharp decline to restrictions and uncertainty due to COVID-19, particularly when it comes to travel, nationalistic policies in key economies like the United Kingdom and the United States, and the normalisation of virtual work setups.

Based on job sector, those who work administration and secretarial jobs are the least likely to move abroad, with 67% unwilling to do so.

On the opposite end are those who work in media and information jobs, with 72% willing to move out of the city-state. This is the only sector with an overwhelming response to working outside Singapore, with other sectors reporting an willingness to move abroad score of 60% and lower.

Canada is the top destination of Singaporeans who wish to work abroad, followed by Thailand, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, United States, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan, Mainland China and Australia, respectively.

Singaporean employers seeking foreign workers, on the other hand, have Malaysia as their top pick, followed by Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Qatar, China, India, United Arab Emirates, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Jobstreet conducted its study by surveying 208,805 respondents in more than 190 countries. For Singapore, Jobstreet surveyed 6,280 respondents across different demographics.