Is the Singapore job market as bleak as it feels?

How is the job market performing? For many employees, the answer starts with the renumeration they are getting from their current jobs.

In 2016, the average bonus received by Singapore employees was approximately 1.45 months, according to a survey by Jobstreet.com.

This bonus, or annual wage supplement (AWS), is what is given to employees beyond their 12 month salaries. Technically, companies are not required to pay AWS unless it has been agreed upon in the employment contract. They also have the right to negotiate the AWS payable if the employee's performance is poor during the year.

Jobstreet.com is an online employment portal with operations in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Singapore. It also gives services to job seekers and corporations.  Jobstreet surveyed 400 people from different industries such as manufacturing, hospitality, education, telecommunication, accounting and medical.

As part of its survey findings, 30% of respondents said they did not receive any AWS, and more than 35% of respondents said that they did not receive any performance based bonuses as well.

 

Job Seekers Are Skeptical Of Future Employment

At the same time, the survey also revealed that job seekers are currently pessimistic about their job outlook, as 60.9% believe it is hard to find a job in 2017. In fact, another 68.9% of them believe companies would put their expansion plans on hold and freeze hiring activities during the year, while another 73% think that it will be difficult to get a job interview and find a job with good prospects. CIMB Private Banking economist, Song Seng Wun, said that the government hopes companies would be willing to accept the high cost of operating here, in exchange for its other operational benefits, in order to keep Singapore competitive. That could be one of the reasons companies are opting to retrain their employees instead of hiring new ones. 

On the other hand, Chook Yuh Yng, Country Manager of JobStreet.com Singapore pointed out that other respondents continue to remain optimistic and on the look out for new employment opportunities, through the use of online job portals and company websites. These respondents are also receptive to job referrals, and companies looking to hire can consider finding the right candidates through these channels.

“This perceived outlook slightly deviates from our market sentiments. We saw a healthy increase in the number of job advertisements since December 2016. On average, we consistently have over 40,000 jobs posted on our website monthly. Hence, we believe that companies are still on a lookout for talent," said Chook.
 

Weakest employment outlook since 2009

In a separate research conducted by ManpowerGroupSingapore, 8% of the 632 employers polled were likely yo increase their headcount, as 4% of them expected to reduce hiring, while another 60% said they were not making major changes to their hiring needs. 

This finding was the least optimistic net employment outlook the group had seen since 2009. 

“Employers are remaining cautious despite the positive economic forecasts recently provided by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and this abundance of caution is evidently prompting many of the employers we survey to scale back their hiring plans,” said Ms Linda Teo, Country Manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore. “However, employers seem willing to keep current payrolls intact until ongoing trade issues and other geopolitical risks are mitigated."

The findings were echoed by official data from the Ministry of Manpower's Labour Market Report for 2016, which showed that the annual average resident unemployment rate had risen to 3%  with a larger percentage above the age of 50. The research had also showed that a lot of job seekers were taking a longer time to find employment, with an increase in unemployment for degree holders. 

 

Biggest discrepancy in salary expectations came from millennials

Source: Shutterstock

Recruitment firm Randstad's latest Workmonitor report also revealed a huge gap in salary expectations between millennials and older workers. 

The Workmonitor tracks confidence among employees and gives a detailed understanding of the job market and trends. The index shows how likely employees are to seek new employment and how satisfied they are as well as what their motivation is.

A large number of millennials expected to receive a bonus while another percentage forecasted a pay rise. However 65% of older employees felt that they would get a bonus while 51% anticipated a raise.

(By Neha Gupta)

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