JobsDB Singapore conducted an online Hiring Trends Survey among its corporate clients from October 21 to November 9 this year (Quarter 4).

In response to the Government’s recent announcement that the Singapore economy is picking up, the JobsDB Hiring Trends Survey aims to gather feedback from our clients to help paint a clearer picture of the current employment conditions.

Using Q3, 2009, as a benchmark for respondents to base their answers on, JobsDB clients were invited to answer a set of 10 multiple-choice questions that covered topics such as performance, headcount and job growth.

The JobsDB Hiring Trends Survey drew 111 respondents from both SMEs (Small to Medium size enterprises) and larger companies across a diverse range of industries such as–

1. Audit & Accountancy

2. Banking & Finance

3. Building & Construction

4. Education & Training

5. Engineering

6. Hospitality

7. Information Technology

8. Insurance

9. Life Sciences & Medical

10. Manufacturing

11. Marcomms

12. Marine

13. Media & Advertising

Here is the summary of the survey’s findings – PERFORMANCE

• 47% of the respondents managed to achieve their performance target in Q3 (Jul – Sep), while 48% did not meet their target.

• The top 3 industries that met their performance target in Q3 are Audit and Accountancy, Banking and Finance, and Media and Advertising. The 3 major industries that could not meet their performance target in Q3 are Hospitality, Manufacturing and Information Technology.

• 49% of the respondents cautiously believe that their performance in Q4 will not deviate much from Q3. On another note, 42% are still optimistic that they will exceed their performance target in Q4.

HEADCOUNT

• In Q3, 56% of respondents maintained their staff headcount, 30% increased their headcount, while 14% reduced their staff headcount. Looking forward to Q4, 39% of the respondents expect to increase their headcount in Q4, while 55% plan to maintain their headcount.

HIRING TRENDS

• In Q3, there was a 30% increase in the hiring of contract and temporary staff, which could be the result of companies working to achieve efficiency in HR costs and greater flexibility in manpower management.

• There was a 19% increase in the number of foreigners being hired in Q3, and the two main reasons that respondents cited for this are the inability to find suitable local talent and lower salary expectations from foreigners.

JOB GROWTH

• 46% of the respondents were optimistic that there will be more jobs created in their industry in Q4 of 2009. Equally, another 46% believe that the status quo will be maintained in terms of job growth. Only a small percentage of 8% believe that there will be more job losses in their industry in Q4.

CONCLUSION

The results from the JobsDB Hiring Trends Survey are relatively consistent with the Government’s assessment of the current economic and employment conditions. Notwithstanding any major crisis that could derail the current upturn in the economy, we project a positive, albeit cautious, result that the majority of industries will be able to perform better in Q4 and into next year as well.