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Demand for talent in AI, data and cloud skills continues to outstrip supply, resulting in a skills mismatch. At the same time, firms are cautious in pay planning due to economic and sectoral uncertainty. On the talent front, candidates are expecting job offers to go beyond higher pay, and include areas such as flexibility, learning opportunities and purpose, Robert Walters said.
Companies are therefore tapping on flexible resource models, which include contract roles and project-based hiring, as a valuable tool to help them stay agile.
Key findings include:
- Industries such as banking and finance are starting to see AI applications go from pilot phases to actual implementation, and various industries across the board are seeing AI usage increase. A third of companies said that they have already introduced AI with the objective of optimising headcount, while 30% are planning to do so.
- Functions that companies see are most at risk with the integration of AI are administration and business support (50%), IT and digital transformation (29%), as well as accounting and finance (28%).
- Nearly eight in 10 (78%) businesses expect up to 50% of their workforce to need reskilling/upskilling due to advancements in AI over the next 5 years. To prepare themselves for AI-driven changes in the workplace, one in two (46%) of professionals surveyed said they have started to research or pursue AI-related training.
- Top skills that employers are looking for in an AI-driven workplace are critical thinking and fact-checking (71%), data analysis (59%), adaptability (44%) and ethical decision-making (41%).
- Professionals using AI at the workplace tend to mostly use AI tools for research and information gathering (50%), chatbots or virtual assistants for communication and support (43%), as well as copywriting, content creation and editing (42%).
- Top concerns over AI adoption at the workplace include having their jobs displaced due to automation (48%), bias or unfair treatment due to algorithms (such as in hiring or promotions) (42%), and the lack of training to keep up with AI skills (41%).
Flexible workforce models
When asked about their hiring plans for 2026, 37% of employers are looking to increase their headcount, with most of them (30%) looking to increase it by 5-10%. 55% of companies will start or continue to hire contractors in 2026. The top reasons for hiring contractors include hiring for project or short-term needs (74%), limited headcount (36%), and a desire to not commit to a permanent headcount yet (33%).
Companies continue to need to explore employee value proposition (EVP) offerings to attract and retain talent. Among the benefits offered to employees currently, the top initiatives were giving a bonus scheme (80%), parental leave (71%), flexi/remote working (65%), commercial medical insurance (65%) and dental cover (58%).
Modest wage increments
Talent moving between jobs can expect increments of 5 to 15%, or up to 20% for niche areas such as AI or cybersecurity. Employees staying with their current companies will see their salaries increase by 3-6% to align with inflation, Robert Walters predicted.
Most employers shared that they are likely to give a modest salary increment in 2026 to current employees. Nearly seven in 10 (69%) of Singapore employers who responded said they would be giving at least 3%. Within this segment, 7% said it would be more than 6%.
Around a quarter (27%) are likely to give a pay rise of under 3%, while 4% said that they will not be increasing salaries. On the other hand, 57% of professionals expect at least a 3% increment from their current employer, with 14% expecting more than a 6% increment.
New hires can expect a pay rise of at least 6% from 56% of employers. Over a quarter (27%) of this segment expect to give pay rises of above 10%. On the other hand, professionals looking to move jobs are more ambitious; 83% expect more than a 10% pay rise, with 23% of them likely to request a more than 20% increase in salary.
One of the challenges when sourcing for staff is that salary and benefit expectations are too high (53%), with other top challenges being:
- Lack of quality candidates with the right skills/experience (72%)
- Qualified professionals are hesitant to move (25%)
- High competition for candidates (counteroffers and buy-backs) (25%)
Beyond compensation and benefits (62%), professionals shared that flexible work arrangements (42%), job security and stability (39%), and inspiring colleagues and culture (34%) are what they would value in an employer.
Talent snapshot
Beyond compensation and benefits, talent value having flexible work arrangements, job security and stability, and inspiring colleagues and culture from an employer. But there is an expectation gap: 27% of employers are likely to give new hires a pay rise of above 10%. However 83% of talent looking to move jobs expect more than a 10% pay rise, with 23% of them likely to request a more than 20% increase in salary.
Employer snapshot
Nearly four in 10 (37%) employers plan to increase their headcount, with most of them looking to increase it by 5-10%.
- Roughly seven in 10 (69%) employers are looking to give a salary increment of at least 3% in 2026 for current employees
- Over half (56%) are likely to give a salary increment of at least 6% to new hires
Lack of candidates with the right skills/experience, gap in salary and benefit expectations, and talent staying put, are among the challenges faced by companies in attracting talent. Other trends include:
- Soft skills: 65% of employers value Interpersonal, communication and collaboration skills, and 59% value problem-solving and critical thinking among their employees.
- Contract hiring: 55% of companies will start or continue to hire contractors in 2026, with 74% of companies hiring contractors do so for project or short-term needs. Other reasons include headcount limitations, and a “wait to try” attitude.
- AI-driven workplace: 78% of the businesses expect up to half of their workforce to need reskilling due to AI advancements.
- Employers are looking for talent with skillsets in critical thinking and fact-checking, data analysis, and who are highly adaptable.
- Top concerns by professionals over AI adoption at the workplace include having their jobs displaced due to automation, bias or unfair treatment due to algorithms, and the lack of relevant training.
The rapid growth in demand for AI and data skills plus the automation of transactional roles dominated the job market in 2025. Employers focused on a skills-based workforce planning approach, invested in targeted upskilling/reskilling (AI, cloud, data), and used AI to automate screening and candidate engagement.
At the same time, talent with skills in AI, data and cloud were more mobile, while mid-career professionals saw stronger incentives to reskill. Increased competition for AI-savvy candidates led to more selective hiring and higher packages in those niche areas.
Companies took a cautious approach to pay reviews and pay planning, with talent with in-demand skillsets benefitting from stronger pay adjustments. Some companies had stagnant salary growth, however. Companies have had to balance the cost of living and the pressure of retaining talent in terms of increments and benefits.
Contract or gig roles continued to be made available to support business needs, while those in slower sectors faced slower hiring and more contract roles.
2026 industry predictions for Singapore
2026 will see the prevalence of AI usage, sustained careful wage management to persist, and a stronger demand for flexible workforce models. There will be continued demand for AI, data and cloud skilled talent. Companies will continue to focus on skills-based hiring, instead of looking at traditional qualifications, as well as internal mobility and talent development programmes to retain and nurture talent.
As Singapore companies respond to the volatility and agility required in the market, the workforce will see traditional permanent roles matched with an increasing number of contract positions and project-based hiring, forecast Robert Walters.
“Gone are the days of market-wide increments. Attracting and retaining talent has become more challenging due to the volatility and pace the market is working to, combined with cost pressures and lack of skilled talent in all areas. Companies will need to stay flexible, explore employee value proposition (EVP) offerings to draw talent, and tap on analytics for market intelligence and workforce planning.
"Employers can also look into tapping on executive recruitment firms to source for leadership talent, and use leadership assessment and coaching to retain and evolve talent. They can invest in contractors to meet the pace and project-based work requirements, and look into outsourcing and managed services to support business scale and control costs,” said Kirsty Poltock, Country Manager at Robert Walters Singapore.
Other Singapore-based insights from the Salary Survey include:
Soft skills valued by employers include interpersonal, communication and collaboration skills (65%), problem-solving and critical thinking (59%), and having a positive attitude, emotional intelligence and empathy (44%).
The functions that are likely to see the highest attrition (defined as the number of respondents who will be looking to change jobs in 2026):
- Supply chain & procurement (82%)
- Accounting & finance (79%)
- Tech & transformation (78%)
- Sales & marketing (78%)
Top functions which can expect pay rises in 2026:
- Accounting and finance (98%)
- Supply chain & procurement (98%)
- Sales & marketing (97%)
- Human resources & business support (97%)
The top in-demand professions for 2026 are:
- Accounting & finance: financial analysts, finance business partners, finance managers
- Banking & financial services: fintech & quantitative specialists, risk & compliance specialists, wealth & portfolio managers
- Human resources & business support: HR business partners, HR generalists, transformation specialists
- Sales & marketing: Head of growth, GM, marketing automation specialist
- Supply chain, procurement & logistics: supply & demand planners, supply chain project managers, analysts
- Technology & transformation: cybersecurity specialists, data/AI engineers, cloud engineers
By industry:
Tech & Transformation
● Demand for talent: very high
● In 2025: With strong interest in AI adoption, there is a sharp rise in demand for skillsets related to AI, cloud and data. New data centre projects and capacities boosted hiring volumes in infrastructure, engineering and operations. Cost pressures kept headcount growth for permanent positions to the minimum, while driving contract hiring and offshoring.
Professionals were more open towards contracting. Hybrid work stayed the norm, but has created new challenges around employee engagement and productivity.
● In 2026: Cost pressures will see companies maintain a flexible mix of permanent and contract employees. Employers will need to show stronger local representation in their workforce.
Key trends
● Employers are moving towards a skills-first approach, with a heavier focus on practical assessments, real project experiences and proof of skills.
● Evolving talent strategy with roles that were once offered permanently increasingly filled by contract talent, in particular for project-based and transformation-heavy work, such as in cloud, data, AI and cybersecurity.
● While global talent will remain important, regulatory scrutiny around Employment Passes will see local talent have an advantage during the hiring process.
Sought-after professionals
● Permanent roles: Commercial roles such as sales and presales talent, AI/machine learning (ML) and data engineers, cybersecurity specialists especially in cloud and data centre security.
● Contracting: Cloud engineers, DevOps, cybersecurity specialists, data and AI engineers.
● Nearly eight in 10 (78%) professionals are looking for a new job, and 37% are confident about job opportunities in the sector.
● What talent value most: excellent compensation & benefits, flexible work arrangements, and job security.
● Valuable soft skills include change management, critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration in hybrid cross-functional teams, and the ability to influence and communicate with business leaders. Adaptability and learning agility are also prized, especially for contractors.
Robert Walters says:
● Talent are advised to develop adaptability across tools and platforms, deepen their domain knowledge and carve out specialisations in niche technologies.
● Companies that are looking to attract and retain talent should be competitive (move quickly on offers, competitive salaries on scarce roles), be efficient (streamline the recruitment process, build an alumni pool of contractors), and showcase clear career value (help professionals see how they can grow in a role).
Salaries
Permanent roles are expected to see their pay rise at a stable rate, while skills such as AI, cloud and cybersecurity continue to seek high premiums. Similarly, contract roles for domains like cloud, data and cybersecurity are expected to see increases in rates.
● More than nine in 10 (93%) of businesses are giving pay rises, while 85% of professionals are expecting a pay rise in 2026.
Future-proofing against AI
Roles with repetitive and standardised tasks, such as entry-level data reporting, low-level programming, and first-line IT support are most vulnerable to automation. Professionals need to show a strong grasp of their domain expertise, understanding of AI governance, and an ability to harness AI in daily work. In- demand skills include stakeholder management and business storytelling as well.
Banking & financial services
● Demand for talent: very high
● In 2025: Firms kept a closer eye on costs and hired more selectively, focusing on skills that directly supported business priorities. 2025 saw AI move from pilot to practice in the industry, particularly in risk and operations.
On the contract front, demand reduced for manual operations while new roles in AI implementation and oversight were created. Stricter compliance requirements saw an increased demand for risk management and regulatory reporting skills.
● In 2026: A growing preference for contract positions and an emphasis in skills and agility in terms of hiring. They will take a skills-based approach and prioritise a candidate’s abilities. Contract and project-based hiring, as well as cross- border hiring will increase, particularly for niche talents in areas such as quant, fintech, private equity and private wealth.
With tightened regulations in areas like digital assets, environment, sustainability and governance (ESG) disclosures and anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC), there will be a surge in hiring for compliance and risk projects.
Key trends
● A rise in contract and project-based roles, offering flexibility under hiring freezes or headcount caps. However, contracts for transformation or regulatory projects will be shorter-term (six to 12 months).
● Hybrid and 'contract-to-perm' are becoming the norm. While remote work is accepted for certain roles, most roles will be hybrid. According to Robert Walters, there is an increasing trend to convert contract staff to permanent positions when headcount frees up.
Sought-after professionals
● There is consistent demand for roles that sit at the intersection of strategy, regulation and technology - fintech professionals, quantitative (quant) specialists, wealth and portfolio managers and risk and regulatory experts with strong technical depth.
● Demand has increased for contract roles for risk and compliance specialists, internal auditors that specialise in financial services, and treasury operations specialists.
● What talent value most: Excellent compensation and benefits, flexible work arrangements, and job security
Soft skills including adaptability, clear communication, and the ability to influence will help talent advance in their careers. Stakeholder management and problem-solving skills will also be valued among contract roles.
Robert Walters says:
● Schedule flexibility has become a baseline expectation to attract and retain talent. Companies can also appeal to contract talent by focusing on the strengths of flexibility and autonomy, exposure to cutting-edge projects, and offering clear career progression pathways.
Salaries
Base salaries to hold steady, with selective premiums for scarce skills and domain expertise in AI, risk and ESG. Bonuses will be linked to individual performance.
● Nine in 10 (91%) of businesses are giving pay rises, while 92% of professionals expect a pay rise in 2026.
● Seven in 10 (69%) of professionals are looking for a new job, and 46% are confident about job opportunities in this sector.
Future-proofing against AI
Positions that centre around repetitive and manual tasks like transaction processing, basic compliance checks and data reconciliation are vulnerable to automation. Professionals need to build data fluency, sharpen their judgement and communication, stay updated on AI-related regulations, and step into roles where human insight complements technology, Robert Walters advised.
Accounting & finance
● Demand for talent: very high
● In 2025: AI, automation and data analytics were adopted, while businesses battled cost pressures stemming from US trade tariffs and other geopolitical shocks. Demand rose for talent with the rare combination of finance and IT skills, as well as contract roles for tech-savvy, data-fluent candidates who can improve automated processes.
Companies managed costs by outsourcing roles that were transactional in nature to countries with lower labour costs, or moved more to contractors. Back-office and repetitive accounting roles, such as accounts payable and accounts receivable (AP/AR), were offshored or filled by local contract talent.
● In 2026: AI is now common in many workflows, prompting a shift in hiring and role expectations. Technical skillsets such as data analytics will be a key feature in the hiring market. A skill-based approach will be taken in hiring talent with these in-demand skillsets.
Contract hiring will increase for all roles. Hiring processes have lengthened, especially for contract roles that may be converted to a permanent one. Singapore continues to struggle with a shortage of talent with technical skills.
Key trends
● Soft skills such as storytelling and communication will become more important, especially for accountants, positions in accounts payable and accounts receivable, and financial analysts (reporting).
● Demand for hybrid talent who combine domain knowhow (e.g. audit, regulatory, financial planning and analysis) with technology, analytics or sustainability literacy.
● Hiring processes to lengthen for both permanent and contract non-transactional roles, which will continue to stay in Singapore. Companies will consider case studies, cultural assessments, up to three more rounds of interviews.
Robert Walters says:
● Professionals should also learn how to collaborate with AI in their daily work, using these tools to their advantage. Professionals in less transactional roles can hone their soft skills in data storytelling, presenting findings and collaboration with other business units.
● Companies look at shortening/condensing interview processes, and define critical skillsets clearly. They should also look to foster a great workplace culture to better attract and retain talent. Flexible work arrangements and competitive compensation remain baseline expectations for most job seekers.
Salaries
Expected to stay flat for permanent roles, with a slight increase (2-5%) for contract roles. However, niche and strategic roles that are in demand, as well as candidates with strong technical capabilities, will see higher increases.
Future-proofing against AI
Task-heavy and transactional roles (junior accountant, account executive and AP/AR) are most prone to automation via AI, robotic process automation (RPA) and intelligent document processing.
Job seekers should look at upskilling themselves with technical skillsets in data, Power BI, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and consider career pathways in finance analyst, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), or business partnering.
Sought-after professionals
- Financial analysts
- Finance business partners
- Finance managers
● What talent value most: Excellent compensation and benefits, Job security, and Flexible work arrangements.
Salaries
● Almost all (98%) businesses are giving pay rises in 2025, while 86% of professionals expect a pay rise in 2026.
● Nearly eight in 10 (79%) of professionals are looking for a new job, and 50% are confident about job opportunities in this sector.
Human resources & business support
● Demand for talent: very high
● In 2025: A conservative approach to hiring, with a focus on redesigning the HR function to meet new business objectives, and roles offshored to lower-cost countries. The introduction of the Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangements in 2024 saw HR departments design frameworks to balance flexibility and productivity.
Contract and interim hiring grew in momentum with an increased demand for experienced contract professionals in areas such as human resources information systems (HRIS) implementations, restructuring projects, compensation benchmarking and employee wellbeing.
● In 2026, businesses will expect more from HR professionals as team sizes shrink and AI integration happens. HR skillsets in business partnering and total rewards will be the key focus. HR teams will also need to drive workforce agility, implement digital HR solutions, and ensure both flexibility and performance.
Trends
Blended workforce models remain a key focus. Demand is expected to go up for HR transformation or fractional HR leadership roles.
Sought-after professionals
● Experienced HR business partners who can balance strategic and operational responsibilities. There is strong demand as well for roles within total rewards, and compensation and benefits.
● HR project managers and transformation specialists. Professionals with a proven ability to lead change initiatives will have an advantage.
HR generalists are also in demand.
● What talent value most: Excellent compensation and benefits, job security, and inspiring colleagues and culture.
● Soft skills include compassion, firmness and fairness to support a workforce in transition. Professionals who can build trust, inspire teams and communicate clearly will stand out.
Robert Walters recommends:
● Companies are encouraged to put a robust talent management programme in place. Opportunities for lateral or internal moves will help keep top talent motivated. They can also take a holistic approach to talent attraction and retention, from regular benchmarking of compensation and benefits, blended workforce strategies, to promoting transparency in areas such as hybrid work decisions and performance evaluation.
Salaries
Salaries may dip for some roles in HR, while increments will remain flat for permanent roles. Contract roles are expected to see salaries increase at usual rates (5-10%), as well as through the introduction of completion bonuses, flexible leave policies and extended benefits. Increments will depend on roles, with steady increases for HR business partners with regional exposure and stakeholder management experience.
● The vast majority (97%) of businesses are giving pay rises, while 90% of professionals expect a pay rise in 2026.
● Nearly three quarters (73%) of professionals are looking for a new job, and 47% are confident about job opportunities in this sector.
Sales & marketing
● Difficulty in hiring talent: very high
● In 2025, lower B2C sector consumer spend saw companies flatten workplace structures, with roles at junior and senior levels being made redundant, and mid-level management employees stretched to cover operational and strategic tasks. On the contract front, roles are often offshored and have a shorter term (e.g.: from 12 months down to 6 months). AI adoption has also led to companies being able to function with smaller teams.
In 2026: AI-skilled workers will be prioritised, while there will be reduced demand for entry-level executional roles. Senior digital specialists will be more in demand.
Trends
● On the B2B front, companies are looking to hire revenue-generating roles to help achieve their sales targets, with a reduced focus on marketing roles.
● Due to cost-cutting measures, companies are merging roles and responsibilities. Employers value candidates with more generalist experience and hybrid experience to cover a wider scope of responsibilities.
● Companies are moving their regional hubs and talents to lower-cost markets like Thailand or Malaysia. Compared to 2025, there will be significantly fewer senior leadership roles based in Singapore.
Robert Walters recommends:
● Companies should have a strong employer brand. They should think about succession planning, be transparent and communicate career outlooks. identifying talents to groom for succession, offering skills-based career mobility, inventing in AI and marketing tech training budgets will help employees evolve.
● Companies are increasingly valuing candidates with more generalist experience, and using automation to cut costs and increase productivity, hence replacing roles in content writing and basic design. Thus, professionals need to have the willingness to take on an expanded portfolio to remain relevant and in demand in today’s workplace.
● Professionals are also advised to maintain a healthy and robust network, creativity rooted in culture and emotion, and have good commercial judgement.
Sought-after professionals
● Revenue-generating roles such as sales directors, GMs, and heads of growth. Contract roles for customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation specialists, and AI-enabled specialists (performance and growth marketers, content strategists) are also required.
● What talent value most: Excellent compensation and benefits, job security, and inspiring colleagues and culture.
● Soft skills in demand include leadership experience, adaptability, ability to collaborate across functions, being a strong communicator who can articulate and drive compelling outcomes.
Salaries
Permanent roles may see salaries stagnate, with some executional roles likely to regress. For contract roles, employers may use bonus/incentive pay, stock options, and non-monetary benefits (such as flexible work and upskilling allowances) more aggressively than large fixed salary increases. Niche and talent-scarce sectors (healthcare, life sciences & diagnostics) may see better increases.
● The large majority (97%) of businesses are giving pay rises, while 92% of professionals expect a pay rise in 2026.
● Seventy-eight percent of professionals are looking for a new job, and 61% are confident about job opportunities in this sector.
Future-proofing against AI
Roles related to content creation, as well as contract roles that are junior or executional in nature (e.g. in content, social media, performance marketing operations, basic customer relationship management or CRM) are most at risk.
Professionals should think about growing the pipeline, increasing conversions, and build AI skillsets such as data and analytics, and martech. As AI cannot replace relationships, professionals should maintain a healthy and robust network, creativity rooted in culture and emotion, ideally with commercial judgement.
Supply chain, procurement & logistics
● Difficulty in hiring talent: high
● In 2025: The sector remained subdued throughout the year as businesses faced mounting challenges - Inflation, geopolitical shocks, and changing immigration controls created significant volatility. It also adopted a cautious “wait-and-see” approach. There was significant offshoring from Singapore to lower costs.
Ongoing expansion of technology and sustainability efforts defined demand for contract positions. Companies sought tech-savvy professionals but struggled to find talent in niche areas such as Blockchain implementation of AI-powered logistics optimisation. Companies also doubled down on efforts to reduce their environmental impact.
In 2026: The industry will be increasingly focused on risk management, resilience, sustainability, and digital transformation. Automation and AI are reshaping traditional roles, particularly those involving planning, inventory management, operations, and procurement.
Trends
Demand for roles that can help businesses align operations with ESG mandates - green procurement practices, carbon reduction strategies, circular supply chain design - will be highly sought after. Contract roles will also increase as companies seek greater flexibility amidst headcount restrictions and economic uncertainty.
Sought-after professionals
● Professionals with skills in strategy, analytics, and AI model prompting will be highly sought after as companies implement and stress-test new systems.
● Trade compliance specialists with expertise in free trade agreements (FTAs) and data analytics, as well as adaptable, technologically-proficient candidates who can effectively manage data tools are prized.
● Supply chain project managers are also in demand.
● Contract roles related to demand planning, supply planning and supply chain transformation will be in demand.
● What talent value most: Excellent compensation and benefits, flexible work arrangements, and job security.
● Soft skills that are good to have include the ability to communicate and collaborate well with others, as well as strategic thinking, problem-solving and resilience to drive innovation and solve complex challenges.
Robert Walters recommends:
● Companies are encouraged to provide upskilling opportunities, as they can help raise productivity, and help employees develop a healthier relationship and stronger adaptability to change.
● Attractive compensation packages remain necessary for specialised and strategic roles, as these talents remain in short supply. Hybrid and flexible work models will remain key as candidates value work-life balance.
Salaries
Salaries for permanent roles are expected to remain flat, with companies possibly exploring non-monetary benefits. Contract roles can expect a rise of 5-8%, though specialised roles may see increments of up to 10-15%.
● Almost all (98%) businesses are giving pay rises, while 87% of professionals expect a pay rise in 2026.
● Eight in 10 (82%) professionals are looking for a new job, and 56% are confident about job opportunities in this sector.
Future-proofing against AI
Roles heavy on repetitive supply chain work, data entry and inventory management are at risk or being replaced as more companies integrate AI. Professionals are advised to focus on picking up technologies such as data analytics and AI, as well as to improve human-centric attributes that AI cannot replace, such as emotional intelligence and business partnering skills.
Explore
Read the Robert Walters Salary Survey at https://www.robertwalters.com.sg/salarysurvey.html
*Salaries shown in the Robert Walters Salary Survey are based on an analysis of placements made across our network of offices and specialist disciplines during the course of 2025.
Now in its 27th year, the Survey is used by employers, HR managers and employees for benchmarking salary levels within their industries.
Robert Walters surveyed 361 professionals and companies in Singapore in September 2025 to get feedback on their main expectations or concerns for the year to come with regards to salaries, career changes or staff retention.
