Job Report 2021: The Top 12 Industries That Are Growing in Singapore

Singapore industries continue to hire aggressively, showing signs that the local economy is recovering from the pandemic indeed. With more than 80% of the population vaccinated, people feel more assured of returning to safe working environments.

In today's tight labour market, we highly recommend that talents explore career opportunities in the top Singapore industries. If you are a fresh graduate preparing for your first job interview, this information will help you better understand the job market. If you are a career-shifter, knowing what is available out there will help you with your options— whether this involves a lateral move or otherwise.

To help you navigate the job market, we used two important markers to measure the demand and supply of jobs across Singapore industries. One marker is job applications, which reflects the supply of talent that aims to fill the vacant positions advertised in the market. The other marker is job ads posted. This marker has shown a persistent rise in hiring needs these past 12 months.

These top Singapore industries are split into three different categories.

First, they are grouped according to how they recruited talent at the height of the pandemic. Then, we compared this information to their hiring behaviour these past 12 months.

Across all industries included, there is an optimistic outlook on recruitment for 2022. The prudent move for jobseekers now is to meet the growing and emerging workplace by upskilling or reskilling.

Top 5 Singapore Industries with Strong Hiring Recovery in 2021

The first group is composed of the top five industries that experienced a decline in hiring last year. These companies are currently advertising for positions that need to be filled immediately.

Industries Picking Up After A Slowdown

On the top spot of this group are the Automobile, Automotive Ancillary and Vehicle industry. Advertisements for job openings in this market increased by 102.1% compared to the same period last year.

Next, the Food and Beverages, Catering and Vehicle industry posted 77.9% more job ads, during the same period. In third place are companies from the Manufacturing and Production category. There were 41.5% more vacancies this year than last year in this particular sector. The Electrical and Electronics industries come in fourth place, followed by the Construction, Building and Engineering industry. These two industries advertised to hire 36.3% and 29.1% more positions, respectively.

We foresee vacancies in these five industries to open up further in the coming months and well into 2022. You can read about emerging job roles in Singapore that are relevant across these sectors. If you want career insights, you can find more information about the career path of an IT Systems Engineer, which is a non-company-specific role. Look into these career options to better prepare you when the opportunity presents itself in the future.

If you are wondering whether a company is a good fit for you, try to answer these six questions to help you with your decision.

3 Resilient Industries

There are two kinds of companies in this group of resilient industries. The companies that consistently recruited for positions despite the pandemic are in the first group. The second one includes industries that suffered a significant drop in job ads during Q2 2020 but have returned strong. They even surpassed the 2019 job ad placements.

Singapore Industries With No Slowdown In Sight

Biotechnology, pharmaceutical and clinical research companies recorded a 102.8% increase in hiring from 2019 to 2021. During the pandemic, biomedical sciences have become a critical pillar, particularly in the field of manufacturing. There was significant demand for emergency and intensive-care use drugs. As a result, Singapore increased its exports to Europe, the US, and Japan.

Not many people are aware that Manufacturing is Singapore's largest industry. If you would like to learn about a role that is specific to this industry, you can glean useful insights from the career path of a Manufacturing Production Technician.

In the Banking and Financial Services industry, job ads for specialisation computer/IT (software) increased five times compared to 2020. According to a survey by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Institute of Banking and Finance, about 6,000 positions were newly-created jobs. About half of this number are for positions in consumer banking and technology.

If you are considering a position in Banking and Financial Services, you can look at the career path of a banking operations manager. You can also become a certified bank credit analyst to give you an advantage in this particular industry.

Job ads in the Education sector have expanded significantly, possibly as a result of the e-Learning opportunities in Singapore. Job applicants for the computer/IT and engineering specialisation in the education industry increased by over 100% since 2020.

As you look at the trends in the job market, make good use of the information you are getting. On top of learning job-specific competencies, discover other skills that are in-demand in any industry. Recruiters are often on the lookout for a balance of hard and soft skills. Acquiring both will help you present yourself better to potential employers, either via cover letter or during an interview.

4 Singapore Industries with Modest Recovery Outlook

The third and final group contains four Singapore industries that were massively affected by COVID-19. Companies in this last category are expected to undergo a modest recovery in terms of hiring in the coming months.

Off to a Slow But Steady Start

The Aerospace, Aviation and Airline industry, along with the Travel and Tourism industry and Hotel and Hospitality, is a sector that has seen a recovery in job advertising in Q1 this year. The Singapore government attempted to stimulate the leisure economy by promoting domestic holidays. However, the reversion to Heightened Alert from July 22 to August 18 presented a challenge. Because of this setback, the travel and tourism sector has yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels.

Hiring trends for the Retail and Merchandise Industry are very promising. At the beginning of the pandemic, a sharp 30-70% drop in retail sales ripped through retail. Among the sectors affected were fashion, electronics, beauty and wellness, as well as food retailers and supermarkets. Not surprisingly, job ads for retailers plunged by 57.5% in 2020. The retailer's transition to online sales helped this industry recover. However, this shift may also affect the speed of its recovery.

In these industries, there is a great emphasis on being customer-centric. Because of the fierce competition for acquiring and retaining customers, employers are always on the lookout for candidates with exceptional customer service skills. Equip yourself and learn customer service skills and be a better candidate for your future employer.

Looking at job opportunities can be a daunting task. Think about it as an exercise in information-gathering, so you do not get overwhelmed with the options and the choices.

One way to help you get more focused on your search is by updating your MyJobStreetProfile. You will be asked to log in to your account using your email address instead of your username.