5 hiring trends job seekers must watch out for

Will there be more flexible work schedule?

According to Ronald Lee, Managing Director of PrimeStaff Management Services, here are the prevailing recruitment and human resource trends in Singapore at present:

1. Less Movement in the Job Market: Overall, we expect a quieter quarter with less hiring for permanent roles. The trend every year is that most employees will stay with their current employers during the year-end period, as they await their annual bonuses before making their next career move.

2. Increased Hiring of Temporary/Contract Staff: The key theme for Q4 will be the significant increase in the hiring of temporary and contract staff to meet the heightened manpower demand during the festive season. This is especially applicable for the Hospitality, Food & Beverage, and Retail sectors.

Additionally, companies that have been finding it a challenge to hire the right permanent staff may switch to hiring temporary workers as an interim solution to their manpower shortage, which has arisen due to the tightening of foreign labour intake.

3. Rise in Blue-collar Vacancies: The tightening of the foreign worker policy will also see an increase in the number of bluecollar positions available for locals and PRs. 

4. More Job Fairs: To fill these blue-collar positions, companies are likely to embark on mass recruitment drives in the form of job fairs. 

5. More Flexible Work Arrangements: There have been recent calls at a national level for a more family-centric society that is underscored by greater work-life balance. As a result, companies will be exploring how they can implement flexible work arrangements for their employees more extensively within their organisations.

We are already seeing forums and focus groups being conducted together with the various business associations to garner opinions and suggestions on such initiatives.