A slowdown in Employment – Job Outlook for Singapore in Q4 2011

Singapore, 11 January, 2012 - JobStreet.com releases its Job Outlook Report for the Fourth Quarter of 2011, and finds a slowdown in employment across all industries.

The Job Outlook Index, as measured by JobStreet.com, looks at the expectations of job growth (or employment prospects) in the industries on a quarterly basis. A higher index means that the industries are creating jobs and employment, while a lower index means the reverse with lesser jobs on offer.

For the Fourth Quarter of 2011, the Job Outlook Index registered 38 points, a 22-point drop from the preceding 60 points, which reflected the general confidence level about the economy.

Job Growth or Employment Prospects: For the Fourth Quarter of 2011, 35.5% percent of respondents felt that employment prospects for the next 12 months will be slightly worse, while 27.5 percent said that it will remain the same. Only 18.5 percent were optimistic, saying that job growth will get better.

Hiring Activities: About 14.5 percent of employers felt more optimistic in expanding their new hire rate, while another 19.8 percent said they will maintain their present hiring rate. The bulk percentage (45.7%) said that they are hiring less for the next 12 months, taking on new employees to only fill essential positions, and the remaining 20.1 percent said that they will not be hiring in the near future.

Top specializations sought: The top specialization still towards Marketing & Business Development. And most of the specializations remain unchanged. Marketing & Business Development and Sales & Marketing will still be in demand for 2012, not forgetting, Customer Service as well.

Note:About 320 JobStreet.com clients, managers and senior managers across various industries in Singapore participated in this survey in December 2011.

What people are saying about Fourth Quarter 2011:

"Market doesn't seem to be improving or companies don't want to take people in. Companies or consultants just give the jobs board about the job they have but don't know if they really want to take in people."
(Industry: Finance)

"The labour supply in construction industry remains very tight in local PM, Site Engineers, SQS, Coordinators, etc. There is no shortage of foreign applicants but the demand for senior level positions are not there for the foreigners."
(Industry: Construction)

"Seriously nothing moving much, everything is freezed"
(Industry: Computers and information technology)

"Headcount at best remains the same."
(Industry: Trade - Retail, wholesale and general)

"In general, the situation is improving but still has a way to go, to reach pre-financial crisis levels, if that. However, in the low to mid income range in Singapore, salaries are still much lower than they should be, versus cost of living which is increasing."
(Industry: Finance)

About JobStreet.com

JobStreet operates the JobStreet.com ( www.jobstreet.com ) online recruitment websites presently covering the employment markets in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, India, Japan and Thailand. The Group currently services over 60,000 corporate customers and over 10 million jobseekers. JobStreet is listed on Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities (JOBST).