After three consecutive quarters of strengthening labor market activity in Singapore last year, a slight decline in hiring pace is anticipated for the first-quarter of 2019, reveals latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey.

A representative sample of 645 employers were surveyed, with 10% intending to hire, 1% forecasting a decrease and 86% expecting no change. The Net Employment Outlook after accounting for seasonal variation is +10%. Hiring intentions decline by 3 percentage points when compared with the previous quarter but are unchanged in comparison with this time one year ago.

 “Employers in Singapore are currently cautious in their business outlooks due to escalating trade tensions between the United States and China. Most employers are opting to maintain their workforce numbers in the upcoming quarter while they observe developments in the situation,” said Linda Teo, Country Manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore.

Employers anticipate an increase in payrolls in all seven industry sectors in Q1 2019, most notably in the Manufacturing sector, where employers reported a Net Employment Outlook of +14% -- its strongest forecast in more than four years.

“Employers in the biomedical manufacturing cluster within the Manufacturing sector expect a steady demand for pharmaceutical products in the next few months,” said Teo. “This likely bolstered the Net Employment Outlook of the Manufacturing sector.”

Meanwhile, employers in the Public Administration & Education sector forecast positive job gains (+11%), while the Services sector Outlook stands at +10%. Employers in both the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector and the Mining & Construction sector report Outlooks of +7%.  

Hiring prospects declined in six of the seven industry sectors when compared to the previous quarter, particularly in the Public Administration & Education sector, which declined by a significant 19 percentage points.  

“Despite being uncertain about business prospects in the new year, most employers expect to add more digital talents to their workforce to develop their digital infrastructure and capabilities,” commented Teo. 

Employers in all eight Asia Pacific countries and territories expect to grow payrolls in the upcoming quarter. In a comparison with the final quarter of 2018, hiring intentions improve in four countries and territories, but weaken in two. When compared with last year at this time, Outlooks strengthen in five countries and territories, but decline in two. Japanese employers report the strongest Outlook in the region (also the strongest of all 44 countries and territories surveyed), while the weakest hiring intentions in the region are reported in China and Singapore.