Engineering and finance talent in Singapore are consistently the most likely to want to change their jobs and actually succeed in doing so, according to data from Randstad's 2025 Employer Brand Research Report.

The report, based on responses from 2,522 working adults, found that year on year, ICT professionals most want to change their jobs, followed by engineering, healthcare, and finance professionals.  However, ICT professionals are also the least likely of these four professions to successfully do so - while engineers are the most likely.

Mapped year on year, the percentage of engineering and finance professionals who successfully changed their jobs has increased between 2024 and 2025, while the percentage of healthcare and ICT professionals who were able to make the move actually dropped.

This gap between expectations and reality reflects ongoing demand for engineering professionals, who are notoriously scarce in Singapore, and for finance professionals, whose industry often sees frequent turnover in response to economic conditions, regulatory and technological changes, and - in some functions - long working hours.

At the same time, the decrease in tech talent's mobility comes with a major shift in the skill profile demanded by employers, reflecting ongoing strategic shifts and uncertainty around the impact of AI.

Why do people want to change jobs?

In the case of tech talent, many are probably seeing the writing on the wall and hoping to secure a more stable role for themselves. Last year, 34% of respondents from tech said they wanted to change jobs, but the percentage jumped to 43% in this year's data.

From a broader perspective, Randstad's survey found that work-life balance (41%) is the number one reason why talent across all industries wants to change jobs, followed by salary and cost of living (36%). It's worth noting that the majority of survey respondents are aged between 29-44 years, meaning that many of them are at a life stage where they may have caregiving responsibilities and family needs.

Some of the other reasons for wanting to switch jobs include lack of career growth (33%), receiving an offer they couldn't refuse (27%, possibly indicating active poaching by competitors), and insufficient flexible work options (23%). Most of these reasons have not changed since 2024, suggesting that employers have not noticeably adapted to workforce demands over the last year.

David Blasco, Country Director at Randstad Singapore said that employers need to pay more attention to how they are addressing the push factors. "In the pursuit of productivity and outcomes, employers can lose sight of what matters most to employees, like having opportunities to grow their careers, being recognised for their work, and feeling connected with their managers and colleagues."