ManpowerGroup forecasts hiring demand upturn in Q415 for Singapore

Job seekers in Singapore can expect an upturn in opportunities during the October to December period as Singapore employers report steady hiring prospects for 4Q 2015, says ManpowerGroup, which provides workforce solutions.

Of the 665 employers surveyed, 16% forecast an increase in staffing levels, 3% anticipate a decrease, and 69% expect no change. Once the data is adjusted to allow for seasonal variation, the Net Employment Outlook stands at +12%. However, while the forecast remains relatively stable when compared with the previous quarter, it declined by 4% year-on-year.

Linda Teo, Country Manager, ManpowerGroup Singapore says: “The year-on-year Outlook decline, from 16% to 12%, indicates that while employers expect the hiring pace to remain positive, uncertainties such as weak global demand for exports and China’s sluggish economy have dampened real hiring intentions in our trade-dependent economy.”

Employers in all seven industry sectors surveyed - Finance, Insurance & Real Estate; Manufacturing; Mining & Construction; Public Administration & Education; Services; Transportation & Utilities; and Wholesale & Retail Trades - anticipate an increase in staffing levels during the October-December period. The strongest labour markets are expected in both the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector and the Public Administration & Education sector, with outlooks of 18% growth.

Respectable job gains are also forecast by employers in the Transportation & Utilities sector and the Services sector, who report positive outlooks of 16% and 14%, respectively, while the Mining & Construction sector outlook is a rise of 12%. Meanwhile, Wholesale Trade & Retail Trade sector employers report the weakest sector outlook for the second consecutive quarter, standing at an increase of 4%. 

Despite the cautious outlook for the wholesale and retail trade sectors, some additional hiring is still expected. Says Teo: “The year end is traditionally a busy period for retailers who have to cope with more demand from shoppers. So, more hiring of contingent workers in particular can be expected.”

When compared with the previous quarter, outlooks improved in four of the seven industry sectors, most notably by 5 percentage points in both the Transportation & Utilities sector and the Wholesale Trade & Retail Trade sector. Quarter-on-quarter, hiring prospects weakened in three sectors, including a decrease of 10 percentage points in the Services sector.

Hiring prospects weakened in six of the seven industry sectors when compared with 4Q of 2014. Considerable declines of 14 and 12 percentage points are reported in the Services sector and the Finance, Insurance & Real Estate sector, respectively, while Mining & Construction sector employers report a decrease by 5 percentage points. However, the outlook for the Manufacturing sector is 5 percentage points stronger.

More than 15,200 employers were interviewed in the Asia Pacific region. The strongest hiring plans in the region are reported by employers in India, Taiwan and Japan. Employers in India report bullish hiring intentions for the coming quarter, with a seasonally adjusted positive outlook of 41% – the strongest in the Asia Pacific region.

The weakest hiring climate is forecast in China. Based on seasonally adjusted figures, Chinese employers anticipate modest growth in staffing levels during the coming quarter, reporting an outlook of 5% more. The figure is the weakest reported by Chinese employers since 3Q 2009.

Interested?

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is available free of charge to the public through their local Manpower representative in participating countries. To receive an e-mail notification when the survey is available each quarter, register for a subscription online

Good people are still hard to find: ManpowerGroup

Source: ManpowerGroup infographic.

Globally, the top five talents that rarest are skilled trade positions (especially chefs, bakers, butchers, mechanics and electricians), sales representatives, engineers (mechanical, electrical and civil), technicians and drivers (particularly of heavy vehicles), says the US-based workforce expert ManpowerGroup.

In Singapore, the picture is quite different. With the exception of engineers which are also in the top five positions that are toughest to fill, the others are: accounting and finance talent, sales representatives, secretaries (including receptionists and administrative assistants), and marketing, public relations and communications specialists.

The findings are part of ManpowerGroup's annual Talent Shortage Survey (TSS), for which 41,700 hiring managers in 42 countries and territories were surveyed. Linda Teo, ManpowerGroup Singapore’s Country Manager says that of the 234 respondents in Singapore, 40% said that these are the positions hardest to fill. She attributed the shortage to “widespread restructuring that is sending tremors across sectors, with shocks being added from a tightening labour market”.

"At the same time, employers do not seem to show an urgency to put into place strategies not just to tackle the talent shortage but to stay ahead of the curve to find individuals to meet their business needs,” Teo said.

“Today, merely recruiting and placing candidates will not yield results. Employers need to encourage a learning culture among their employees and to get them to chart their own careers.”

Employers also need to explore untapped talent pools such as youth and older workers, and look to enhancing benefits, she said.

According to the TSS, key reasons for organisations’ difficulty in filling jobs include:

• Lack of available applicants – 35%
• Lack of technical competencies (hard skills) – 34%
• Lack of experience – 22% 
• Lack of workplace competencies (soft skills) – 17%, and 
• Looking for more pay than is offered – 13% 

The most likely consequences of a talent shortage are a reduced ability to serve clients (42%) and reduced competitiveness and productivity (42%). In addition, 30% expect an increase in employee turnover and 26% anticipate lower employee engagement and morale.

In Asia Pacific, nearly half of all employers report talent shortages (48%). Apart from Japan, where 83% of employers are facing challenges, lack of talent is also a concern in Hong Kong (65%) and Taiwan (57%). However, talent inadequacies are least likely to be a concern for mainland Chinese employers (24%) given the country’s huge population.

Source: ManpowerGroup infographic.

On the flipside, a global career survey of employees released in April by Right Management, the global career experts within the ManpowerGroup, signal a disconnect between employee aspirations and the performance demands of employers worldwide.

The Global Career Aspiration Survey finds that only one in 10 of employees defines career success as high performance and productivity. Nearly half - 45% - of respondents rank work-life balance as their No.1 career aspiration, and the top definition of workplace success is "enjoyment and happiness".

Teo said: “Understanding employee career motivations and aspirations is key to creating a high performance culture that motivates individuals to do their best work. When people have ongoing career conversations with their managers, they experience effective career development and are more likely to be engaged, motivated and ready to take on new challenges.”

The Global Career Aspiration Survey was commissioned by Right Management in Q4 2014 to better understand career motivations and how perceptions are shifting in the workplace. The survey included results from 1,225 respondents in countries such as Canada, the US, Australia, India and Singapore.

Interested?

Visit the TSS microsite
View the complete infographic