Singapore’s economy expanded by 3.5% in 2017, with stellar performance in Q3 followed by a 2.7% growth in Q4. Conventional wisdom would have it that the job market would have similarly improved, but it did not.
According to Morgan McKinley’s APAC Employment Monitor for 4Q17, there were fewer jobs as well as people seeking employment in Singapore for the last quarter of 2017.
In comparison with the strong previous quarter, employment opportunities were down by 20 percent, and 37 percent fewer individuals sought new employment.
However, the COO of Morgan McKinley Asia Pacific, Richie Holliday, remained optimistic, “Despite closing the year with a low performance, the financial services market in Singapore was stronger in 2017 than 2016.
Two years ago, employment abounded in the fintech sector, while they dwindled when it came to more traditional financial services. This trend was reversed in 2017, however, when hiring hit high levels in private banking, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and trading; making Singapore an ideal place for a private banker to get a job, along with all sorts of bonuses.
The number of foreigners working in Singapore has also remained very high, even with the government’s strict policies concerning visas.
All over the world, contractor hiring is up by more than twenty percent from the previous year, but are down for the quarter, following the trajectory of the season. Per Mr. Holliday, employment in contracting, fluctuation is to be expected due to the nature of contractor work being sensitive to economic and seasonal changes.
Contracting jobs also differ from country to country, according to regional data. As an example, in Sydney, employment in contracting are well-regarded and fully incorporated into their business models. However, in Singapore, these kinds of jobs are less well thought of than full-time employment opportunities.
Results from the APAC Employment Monitor seem to show that businesses are moving away from Singapore, something that will definitely affect the culture.
Contractors definitely have a big part in navigating through those changes, as they supply employers with a steady stream of workers for less money, while giving these workers a fast track in their professional growth. For this reason, contractors will continually to be popular and expand even in countries that have been resistant to them.
In short, last year was a strong year in terms of employment in financial services in the Asia Pacific.
In addition to this, 2017’s Job Happiness Index for Singaporean workers was released today. The report shows that 45 percent of Singaporeans are dissatisfied or unhappy with their work.
Three key factors were also identified that led to these feelings of unhappiness
- Problems with the leadership or management of the company
- Scarcity of opportunities for professional development
- Scarcity of opportunities for training