Manpower Employment Outlook Survey Shows Singapore Employers’ Hiring Sentiment Dips in Midst of Uncertain Economic Conditions for Second Quarter of 2015.

SINGAPORE, (4 March 2015) – According to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey results released today by ManpowerGroup Singapore, job seekers in Singapore are likely to bear the brunt of employers’ jitters over the uncertain economy. Based on the results of the latest ManpowerGroup survey, the seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +14%, is down 4% when compared to both last quarter and last year at this time.

Although workforce gains of varying margins are forecast in all seven industry sectors during the coming quarter, Outlooks look to decline in five sectors when compared with the previous quarter with only the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate and Mining & Construction sectors bucking the downward trend. However, second-quarter Outlooks are weaker in all seven industry sectors compared to the same period last year.

Manufacturing is particularly hard hit, with Manufacturing sector employers forecasting the slowest hiring pace with the only single-digit Outlook of +7%. The Outlook is 8 percentage points weaker when compared with the previous quarter, but relatively stable in the year-over-year comparison.

“The hiring pace in the manufacturing industry is likely to be sluggish in the April-June time frame. The repercussions of restructuring, labour shortage and the weak global economy are resonating in the industry. Furthermore, with falling oil prices, Singapore's key offshore and marine engineering clusters in particular are holding on to their purse strings,” Ms Linda Teo, Country Manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore noted.

Amidst the clouds, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate and Mining & Construction sectors bear the silver lining with employers predicting the most labour market activity.

Finance, Insurance & Real Estate employers report an Outlook of +20%. Hiring prospects improve by 3 percentage points quarter-over-quarter but are 4 percentage points weaker year-over-year. Meanwhile, hiring in the Mining & Construction sector is expected to accelerate over the next three months. The Outlook of +15% is 5 percentage points stronger quarter-over-quarter, although it declines 6 percentage points year-over-year.

“Over the past few months, the Banking & Finance sector has enjoyed reasonable growth. Nonetheless, it could be affected by the global slowdown and subsequent trade volume decrease. Nervous economies and risk aversion could also be a dampener to employers’ hiring sentiments,” cautioned Ms Teo.

Hiring plans soften throughout the Asia Pacific region

Payrolls are expected to increase in all eight Asia Pacific countries and territories. However, Outlooks are trending weaker than they have in the past and the hiring pace is expected to slow by varying margins in five countries and territories in both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year comparisons. Employers in Taiwan report the most optimistic forecast across the globe for the sixth time in the last three years. Meanwhile, the region’s weakest forecasts are reported by employers in Australia and China.