Active job seekers down 5% amidst high wage satisfaction: study

Three in five claimed to be either 'satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with their pay.

The number of professionals in Singapore actively seeking a new position fell by 5% to 35% which marks a 5% decline from last year, according to 2019 Hays Asia Salary Guide. 

Majority of respondents (45%) identified work-life balance as the main factor for not looking for a new employer, followed by the management style and company culture (voted by 37%). Coming in third in equal proportions were salary or benefit package and job security (both voted by 33%).

By contrast, those who were indeed looking to change jobs had mostly cited salary or benefit package (60%), seeking new challenges (55%) and lack of career progression (45%) as main reasons for their intentions to move.

Over half (61%) of employees claim to be either ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their current compensation package, up from the 46% who felt the same way in 2018. As a result, 65% of employees did not request for a pay raise.

The report also shows that there has been a huge upswing in confidence over current skills levels, with 69% of employees believing that their skill sets will continue to be in demand by employers five years from now, slightly up from the 66% with the same sentiments in the previous year.

On a regional basis, Malaysians are most likely to seek a new role with 37% of candidates actively looking for a job whilst the Japanese are more content with their current positions with only 32% actively hunting for a new role.