[SINGAPORE] Singapore’s hiring outlook is mixed for the third quarter of 2025, with more employers planning to hire, but also expecting to see a reduction in their workforce, according to a survey by employment agency ManpowerGroup.
This is in contrast with a Manpower Ministry survey conducted in March, which found that fewer employers expect to hire or raise wages in the next three months.
The quarterly survey by ManpowerGroup was released on Tuesday (Jun 10). It found that among the 525 employers surveyed, 43 per cent of them expect an increase in hiring in Q3, compared with 39 per cent in the previous quarter.
But 19 per cent of employers anticipate a fall in their staffing levels, a slight increase from the 12 per cent recorded in the previous survey.
Therefore, on the whole, Singapore’s net employment outlook fell to 24 per cent for Q3, from 27 per cent the previous quarter. ManpowerGroup calculates net employment outlook by subtracting the percentage of employers who anticipate reductions in staffing levels from those who plan to hire.
Employers planning to hire cited company expansion (43 per cent) as the primary driver of staffing increases, said ManpowerGroup. The second-highest cited reason was a need for skills to stay competitive (30 per cent).
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In contrast, employers cited economic challenges (42 per cent) and the need to adapt to market changes (30 per cent) as the top reasons for workforce reductions.
On a sectoral basis, the healthcare and life sciences sector reported the brightest hiring outlook – though the sector’s net employment outlook has moderated slightly from the previous quarter.
The next two sectors with the brightest outlook were information technology and transport, logistics and automotives.
In contrast, the consumer goods and services sector has the weakest employment outlook, followed by industrials and materials, and then financials and real estate.
