Singapore job ads jump 15.6%

Which sector is the most desperate for applicants?

According to Robert Walters Asia Job Index, job advertisements in Singapore increased by 15.6% in Q3, although a large proportion of the advertising related to roles in commerce, industry, healthcare and public sector.

Here's more from Robert Walters:

The Financial Services industry, in parallel with most financial centres around the world, remained slow and whilst advertisements for jobs in Accounting and Finance remained steady (down just 0.5%), most of these tended to be in commerce and industry.

There is a shortage of local qualified accountants, for whom demand has always been strong. There were more advertisements for jobs in Operations, with an increase of 29% over Q2.

Most of these roles were advertised in response to government tenders for projects, which usually increase when markets are slower, enabling more favourable prices to be negotiated from contractors.

Advertised roles in Medical Services also increased by 42.7%. Singapore is the healthcare capital of Asia and the industry is relatively immune from recession. Many of the roles related to research into the sale and marketing of new pharmaceutical products.