Good news for Singapore jobseekers—hiring is on the increase despite fears of recession

In spite of fears of a looming recession in the Asia Pacific region, hiring is still on the increase in at least three countries— India, Australia, and Singapore, LinkedIn said recently.

The sector with a significant need for manpower for all three countries is accommodation, which includes hotels, motels, casino hotels, and bed-and-breakfast inns (B&Bs).

The accommodation sector is in the top three, showing an increase in hiring in India, Australia, and Singapore.

Job postings for the accommodation sector have gone up by 15 per cent in Singapore, with transport and logistics showing a 31 per cent uptick.

The biggest rise in job postings in Singapore, however, is in the entertainment sector, (firms involved in performances, events, and exhibitions), which is up by 100 per cent.

The bad news, however, is that the demand for jobs in other sectors has gone down. LinkedIn says that in health care, education and construction, job postings are down by over 30 per cent.

Ms Feon Ang, the firm’s Asia-Pacific managing director said, the decrease in job postings for the construction sector is likely to have been caused by measures to cool the private and residential property market that was introduced by the government.

LinkedIn also noted that competition for jobs has actually gone down in comparison to last year. Applications for paid job postings on LinkedIn in Australia, India, and Singapore have decreased by over 50 per cent.

Ms Ang noted, “Even as job postings rise, workers are being more selective in picking their next role, and so competition for jobs on average is down.”

“This means that workers are in a position to demand more out of work, and have higher expectations of what they want in a job – and that’s a healthy sign.”

What may not be a good sign, however, is that remote job options in both Australia and Singapore may have fallen.

But LinkedIn noted that on average, postings that allowed offered remote working options got twice as many applications and that in Singapore, the interest in obtaining a job that offers remote options has gone down, with paid job postings allowing employees to work from home fell from 8 per cent in the first quarter to 6.7 per cent in the second quarter. /TISG

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