Singapore employers face talent shortage across all industries, women candidates in demand: Survey

SINGAPORE: Singapore employers face talent shortages across all industries. The latest survey by ManpowerGroup, which included 525 employers across various sectors, reveals a dip in the second quarter’s employment outlook, according to the Singapore Business Review reports.

The Net Employment Outlook (NEO), a key indicator derived from the survey, is at 24%. This figure is calculated by removing the percentage of employers who expect to reduce their staff from those who plan to hire.

Among different industries, the financials and real estate sector have the strongest outlook for the upcoming quarter, with an NEO of 45%.

This is closely followed by healthcare and life sciences at 36%, energy and utilities at 33%, and industrials and materials at 32%. However, the communication services industry paints a less optimistic picture, registering a negative outlook of 29%.

A common challenge employers face across all sectors is the shortage of skilled talent.

The inability to find suitable candidates for vacant positions is a pressing concern, with 88% of employers in the financials and real estate sector, 87% in transport, logistics, and automotive, and 82% in healthcare and life sciences expressing difficulty in hiring.

Interestingly, the survey also highlights a significant gender gap in management roles, from top-level to middle-level to front-line positions. The shortage of women candidates presents an opportunity for employers to enhance workforce diversity.

Less than half (46%) of employers say their efforts to increase the number of women candidates are progressing as planned.

In addition, just 27% anticipate achieving full gender equality within their organisations, contrasting with the 21% where gender equality is already a reality.

Flexible working policies emerge as a promising strategy for retaining and attracting diverse talent. 42% of companies attribute flexible working arrangements to talent retention and diversification of the candidate pool.

Technology is identified as a crucial tool in bridging the gender gap, with 73% of employers leveraging technology for more flexibility and 67% acknowledging its role in promoting gender equality. /TISG

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