Talent shortage hits 15-year high with 64% of employers struggling to hire help

Singaporean employers are expected to hire more workers in the third quarter.

Singaporean employers have been hit by a record-breaking talent shortage, according to a report by ManpowerGroup Singapore.

Of these employers surveyed, 64% said that they struggled to hire workers, reflecting the 15-year global talent shortage high of 69%.

The top three roles employers are struggling to fill are operations/logistics (47%), sales/marketing (14%) and manufacturing/production (13%) jobs.

More employers are also showing an increased interest in workers and leaders with soft skills such as initiative taking, leadership and social influence, and accountability, reliability and discipline.

“The results show that as the pace of digitalisation accelerates, labour market recovery will follow a K-shaped trend where industries and people in growth sectors and have the in-demand skills are bouncing back faster and better, while others are at risk of falling further behind. Besides working on acquiring the required technical skills, individuals should develop in-demand soft skills such as initiative-taking and leadership to stand out in the job market,” said Linda Teo, Country Manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore.

Employers in all industry sectors are expected to employ more in the third quarter, particularly in the finance, insurance and real estate sector, and mainly for IT and consumer banking roles.

The Net Employment Outlook is +15%, accounting for seasonal variation, improving by 43 percentage points from the third quarter of 2020, when COVID-19 first showed an impact on hiring sentiment.