Skilled jobs in Singapore on the rise: Indeed

Higher-skilled jobs related to scientific research and generative AI (gen AI) are growing in demand in Singapore, though the total number of job postings on Indeed declined by 3.7%.

Source: Indeed. Change in Singapore job postings, percentage change. Scientific research and development job vacancies led the pack over the past three months as of end-February 2025.

According to Indeed’s latest Hiring Lab Singapore’s job postings are 50% above pre-pandemic levels, with growth mainly seen in higher-skilled roles like scientific research and development, which rose by 35%. Job postings for security and public safety (+31%) and production and manufacturing (+16%) roles also saw some of the highest gains in the past three months.

As of February 2025, job postings related to gen AI have doubled over the past year. Key gen AI-related roles in demand come from data analytics, scientific research, and software development. Indeed said the growth in such roles shows promise for Singapore’s ambitions to become a regional gen AI hub. The share of Singapore job ads referencing gen AI is now 1.2%, which is 4x higher than countries like the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

Indeed’s data also highlighted that job postings for cleaning and sanitation (-33%), childcare (-19%), and retail (-18%) roles saw the highest decline in terms of job postings. Such jobs are considered those which require fewer skills. The Ministry of Manpower’s Q4 labour report observed a “notable decline” in employment for workers in lower-skilled sectors, such as those in the administrative and support services.

Callam Pickering, APAC Senior Economist at Indeed, commented: “There’s reason to be optimistic about Singapore’s employment outlook despite the month’s mixed results. Higher-skilled roles remain in high demand, with Singapore standing out globally, especially in gen AI and data-related roles. An exciting challenge now is helping workers integrate gen AI capabilities into their skillsets.”

“While more support and service-oriented roles have seen a dip, it’s not necessarily a cause for alarm. With the labour market set to expand, the focus should be on continuous skills development to stay resilient and competitive.”

Aon Hewitt shares Malaysia perspective for Total Compensation Measurement study

Aon Hewitt, the global talent, retirement and health solutions business of Aon, has released the latest trends and insights from its Total Compensation Measurement (TCM) 2015 Study. Global TCM is Aon Hewitt's comprehensive compensation benchmarking study that covers 25,000 positions across 180 countries.

Salary increase by industry sector in Malaysia

While gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to increase from 3.1% in 2015 to 3.6% in 2016 globally, the economic climate closer to home is a crucial element when making decisions related to employee rewards. Within Southeast Asia (SEA), Philippines and Vietnam experienced the highest growth in 2015 at 6% and 6.5% respectively and are projected to continue to enjoy the highest growth in 2016. Indonesia witnessed the highest consumer price index (CPI) at 6.8% in SEA year on year whereas Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam show a moderate CPI. Philippines has the highest unemployment rate at 6.3% in 2015¹.

The implementation of the goods and services tax (GST), drastic depreciation in the ringgit, and declining commodity prices were some of the factors affecting Malaysia's economy this year. Malaysia experienced a decline in GDP to 4.7% in 2015 and a projection of 4.5% in 2016, a slightly reduced CPI at 2.4% in 2015 and a projection of 3.8% in 2016, and a slightly increased unemployment rate at 3.0% in 2015 and 2016¹.

In this context, the Aon Hewitt salary survey shows stability with salary increases for 2015 at 5.6% and a projected increment of 5.8% in 2016². Prashant Chadha, Managing Director of Aon Hewitt in Malaysia said: "With a rocky 2015 and shrinking budgets, organisations must make rewards decisions not just with reliable data but also driven by the bigger picture and economic climate. Best Employers pair their rewards decisions with other aspects like performance, careers, culture, diversity, etc. to further strengthen their total rewards approach in line with employee value proposition."

Aon Hewitt Total Compensation Measurement indicates that overall salary increments in 2015 and projected salary increment in 2016 remain relatively consistent across all employee categories whereas variable payouts (performance bonus) increased slightly in 2015 to about two to three months of annual base salary and are projected to remain stable in 2016. The Aon Hewitt 2015-2016 Malaysia Salary Increase Survey shows higher salary increase projections across most industries in 2016³.

Malaysia recorded the second highest involuntary turnover rate at 6% and third highest voluntary turnover rate at 9.5% in SEA this year. The Aon Hewitt TCM 2015 Survey in Malaysia shows the correlation between voluntary attrition reasons and retention measures, the top three being: "better external opportunity", "further studies" and "work life balance" while key measures taken to attract and retain employees are "pay above market", "improved work life balance" and "timely and meaningful feedback from managers"3.

Nur Amani Yusnida, Aon Hewitt Performance, Reward and Talent Practice Lead in Malaysia said: "With salaries and increases remaining stable since 2011 (average increase of 5.7% over the past five years) employers are taking the 'wait and see' cautious approach to budgeting salaries. The consistent theme seems to be 'doing more with less', optimising costs wherever possible. Voluntary turnover is trending down this year at 9.5% from 12.2% in 2014 reflecting the volatility and instability of the market conditions in Malaysia."

In addition, Aon Hewitt's recently launched Hot Topic Survey provides insights on how organisations are reacting to the recent economic environment impacting both employers and employees in Malaysia. The study reveals that the highest impact of the current economic environment on organisations comes from the depreciation of the ringgit followed by the implementation of GST. The recent road toll hike also has a significantly negative impact on employees. However, employees view the minimum wage increment and increased salary cap for Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) eligibility that was proposed in the 2016 Budget as positive.

To cope with higher living costs, 22% of organisations indicated their plans of providing higher salary increases than initially budgeted for and 7% of organisations are providing a one-off salary adjustment. Nearly half (47%) of organisations have revised their benefits programmes in the last two years, particularly the medical limits and mileage claims. About eight in 10 (76%) of organisations reported an increase in medical claims and almost three quarters (72%) indicated an increase in medical leave following the recent haze issue⁴.

Surendran Ramanathan, Aon Hewitt Southeast Asia Retirement and Investment Practice Lead said: "The current economic environment has adversely impacted both employer and employees, companies are facing budget constraints whilst employees are expecting to cope with the increase cost of living. Therefore companies should ensure their rewards dollars are spent more prudently to get the biggest bang for the buck."

Prashant  emphasised: "Based on our Best Employers Research and through numerous CEO and HR directors' interviews we note that, while organisations optimise costs, employees must continue to strive, and high performers will not only benefit from pay for performance but also from other career-linked total rewards to ensure retention and alignment to business goals."

The Aon Hewitt Best Employers - Malaysia 2015 Country Report shows that 78% of Best Employers combine structured, formal recognition programmes with manager-driven recognition as opposed to market average of only 40%. The study also revealed that Best Employers compensate their high performers 21% higher than their average performers. This differentiation results in higher employee perception in terms of recognition and performance impact on pay5.
The Best Employers have also shown their strength across all four pillars of Best Employers, specifically in high employee engagement, compelling employer brand, effective leadership and a high performance culture. The Best Employers enjoy 38% higher income than market average, attain 50% better growth in profits than market average and have filled 38% more job openings internally compared to market average.

Gap between rhetoric and reality in Malaysia organisations

1 International Monetary Fund (IMF)
2 Aon Hewitt 2015-2016 Global Salary Increase Survey
3 Aon Hewitt Total Compensation Measurement
4 Aon Hewitt Hot Topic Survey, November 2015. SOCSO provides social security protection to employees and their dependents through social security schemes to improve the employees' social wellbeing.
5 Aon Hewitt Best Employers -- Malaysia 2015 Country Report

Crowdfunding portal set up to help human trafficking victims

Microsoft and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) today announced the launch of 6Degree.org, the first crowdfunding portal that enables the public to directly support the voluntary return and sustainable reintegration of human trafficking victims.

6Degree is the result of a public-private partnership between Microsoft and IOM. The development of the portal was led by IOM X, which is IOM’s new campaign to encourage safe migration and public action to stop exploitation and human trafficking, produced in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“The growing operational challenges of migration management demand out-of-the-box thinking on how best they can be tackled,” said Stefan Sjöström, Vice President for Public Sector, Microsoft Asia. “The use of technology shows enormous potential in this respect, and combining Microsoft’s deep expertise in deploying cloud computing technology to support public sector endeavors inspires confidence in our efforts to aid human trafficking victims.”

IOM has provided more than 70,000 survivors of human trafficking with humanitarian, medical, legal and migration support since 1997. On average, IOM helps 6,000 to 7,000 individual trafficking survivors every year. With the additional funding, the cost of shelter, medical and legal assistance, repatriation, and education or skills development to prevent re-trafficking can be covered to meet demand.

“6Degree is the first time we have been able to provide individual donors with direct access to supporting a proven and time-tested mechanism for helping individual survivors of trafficking,” said Andrew Bruce, Regional Director, IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. “I am excited by the possibilities this technology opens up for organisations such as IOM, and the opportunity to give more victims of human trafficking a second chance at life.”

Source: 6Degree.org website. Each survivor’s story is told through interactive story maps, which strike a balance between protecting the victim’s identity, and telling a compelling story to potential funders. 

6Degree is the first crowdfunding portal that meets the strict requirements of IOM’s victim protection and privacy standards. Because a survivor’s anonymity is their most important form of protection, 6Degree does not use photographs of faces and modifies information that could compromise their safety or chances of a normal life. Instead, each survivor’s story is told through interactive story maps, which strike a balance between protecting the victim’s identity, and telling a compelling story to potential funders.

The interactive map allows users to follow the journey of each former victim, with significant milestones illustrated by clickable icons. When clicked, the user is presented with a narrative elaborating on the survivor’s experience at that point in their journey. By following the stories icon by icon, the user can understand the circumstances that led to the person being trafficked, appreciate the challenges faced during exploitation, learn how they reclaimed their freedom and discover what their dreams and ambitions are for the future.

“6Degree is about connecting individual users with individual human stories,” said Tara Dermott, IOM X Program Leader. “Parallel to the funding aspect, these stories will help develop awareness, build understanding and nurture commitment towards stopping human trafficking through the many actions of a united collective.”

Xaxis Prime combats digital ad fraud

Xaxis, one of the world's largest programmatic* advertising platforms, is addressing ad fraud what it says is the ad industry’s first fully programmatic product to guarantee human viewership for advertisers’ digital brand campaigns. 

Xaxis Prime extends beyond pre-bid analysis** and post-campaign blacklisting to dynamically identify and block robot traffic and suspicious sites, the company said. Existing fraud prevention safeguards have been combined with new technologies including a proprietary human verification tool based on internal and partner technology from Adara, Solve Media and Moat.

Types of fraud Xaxis Prime protects against include botnets, ad insertion or redirection, CMS/OS hacking, robots designed to behave like humans and robot retargeting. In addition to helping advertisers, the new product introduces several powerful new tools for Xaxis’ publisher partners to ensure only humans are viewing their inventory. These include proprietary, internal detection processes and integrated third party verification tools. These tools enable Xaxis to provide feedback to publishers on the inventory posing the most risk, allowing them to identify the cause and eradicate it prior to selling to Xaxis or other buyers. 

One way that Xaxis Prime guards against fraud is through tracking genuine visitors through answered captchas, completed transactions or specific human behaviours such as creative engagement and social sharing. These verified visitors are then cross-referenced in the Xaxis data management platform (DMP) against pre-bid impression evaluations and post-bid analysis of traffic metrics to provide an assurance that the traffic is indeed human.

At rollout, Xaxis Prime delivers a no-fraud guarantee across the Xaxis Marketplace. In addition to the proprietary human verification tool, Xaxis Prime guarantees 90% viewability, 95% brand safety and includes ongoing audits of all inventory, pre-bid impression evaluation, post-campaign reporting to validate inventory and audience that was acquired.

“Xaxis Prime represents the next step in our ongoing efforts and investment to combat digital ad fraud and ensure our clients achieve the highest possible real performance,” said Larry Allen, SVP of Business Development at Xaxis. 

“Ad fraud is an international problem impacting both advertisers and publishers. With Xaxis Prime, brands get a simple and powerful guarantee for their digital brand advertising across the top premium publishers.” 

*Programmatic technology allows advertisers to bid for the privilege to display an ad based on various rules, such as the types of viewers or the type of content displayed on a page. 

  

**Data can be pre-qualified before a bid is placed so that bids on fraudulent inventory are avoided or minimised.