SDS: Recruitment Agency
specialising in recruitment services for japanese speaking job seekers in Singapore

Real wage and employment likely to fall this year: Survey

A survey conducted by the Singapore Human Resources (SHRI) and Remuneration Data Specialists (RDS) shows that 54 per cent out of 151 companies expect to hire personnel this year, down from 77 per cent last year.

Although the expected total wage seems to be on the rise (1.3 per cent for this year), the survey reports that real wages would fall between 1.2 per cent and 2.3 per cent, taking in consideration an inflation rate of 2.5 to 3.5 per cent.

Among all the sectors, the financial sector shows the highest wage growth of about 3.7 per cent while the electronics manufacturing sector has the lowest of about 1.9 per cent.

According to the survey, hiring willingness is likely to shrink this year. However, the companies are planning to retrench fewer employees, 1 per cent compared to 3 per cent last year.

A new segment in the survey, called Fair Employment Practices, found that 75 per cent of companies hire on the basis of attitude, motivation and willingness to impart knowledge, among other factors.

Twenty-five per cent of the companies surveyed would only hire foreigners as a last resort.