Employers add parental leave tags to job postings amidst talent war

Attitudes have shifted to workplace flexibility, gender equality, and work-life balance.

1.7% of Singapore job postings used phrases such as ‘parental leave’ or ‘maternity leave’ in their job descriptions during the first half of 2024, according to a study by Indeed. 

Parental leave policies are most likely to be emphasised in childcare (4% of postings), human resources (4%) and sales (3.5%).

Growth over the past two years has been strongest in civil engineering, up 2.2 percentage points (ppt), veterinary (2ppt), logistic support (1.8ppt) and pharmacy (1.8ppt). 

The increase comes amidst shifts in attitudes towards workplace flexibility, gender equality and work-life balance, said Callam Pickering, APAC senior economist at Indeed. 

“Strong competition for talent may also be a contributing factor, with benefits often used to stand out against your peers. Interestingly, while childcare is the sector where parental leave is most commonly mentioned, it was also the sector that experienced the largest decline over the past two years (-3.4ppt),” Pickering said.

Job postings down 5.7% in June
Overall, Singapore job postings on Indeed fell 5.7% in June compared with a month ago. This is the largest monthly decline since March last year, according to Indeed.

Singapore job postings are 13.4% lower than in June 2024.

Job postings in almost 30% of occupational categories increased over the past three months, driven by a rise in architecture (15.7%), retail (14.1%) and medical technician (13%). Other solid performers included sports (11.7%) and construction (11.5%).

By comparison, postings declined in areas such as dental (-34.6%), security & public safety (-32.9%), mathematics (-26.8%) and software development (-26.8%). 

The tech sector in general continues to be a bit of an underperformer, according to Indeed.

“Overall, unemployment in Singapore remains low and skill-shortages remain common. Recruitment is perhaps easier than it was a year ago but still remains quite challenging by historical standards,” Pickering said.