Key points:

  • Singapore job postings rebounded in September, but have been on a downward trend over the past three years. 
  • Hospitality & tourism, human resources and logistic support have experienced the strongest posting growth over the past three months. 
  • Nurses, chefs and accountants are among the professions that Singaporeans were least likely to leave from 2022 to 2024. 

In September, Singapore job postings rose 1.0% — following two consecutive monthly declines — to be 14.5% lower than a year ago. They have been on a downward trend over the past three years. 

Despite the ongoing decline, Singapore job postings remain 36% above pre-pandemic levels. The post-pandemic job boom in Singapore was so large that job creation is still strong enough to keep the unemployment rate low, despite job postings falling for the past three years. 

Line and bar graph showing the percentage change in Singapore job postings from July 2022 to present. With a vertical axis ranging from -30 to 60%, Singapore job postings rose 1.0% in September but are down 14.5% over the past year. 
Line and bar graph showing the percentage change in Singapore job postings from July 2022 to present. With a vertical axis ranging from -30 to 60%, Singapore job postings rose 1.0% in September but are down 14.5% over the past year. 

Job postings in almost every sector remain above pre-pandemic levels, and postings in one-in-five sectors are more than double pre-pandemic levels. 

Demand is highest in sports (+154% compared to pre-pandemic levels), hospitality & tourism (+146%), pharmacy (+144%), physicians & surgeons (+127%) and education (+119%), pharmacy (+109%) and civil engineering (+107%), where postings are more than double pre-pandemic levels. 

By comparison, job postings in beauty & wellness (-12.3%), driving (-9.3%), arts & entertainment (-3.2%) and childcare (-3.0%) are below pre-pandemic levels.

Line graph shows the percentage share of occupation sectors above threshold for Singapore job postings. With a vertical axis ranging from 0 to 100%, 92% of sectors have job posting volumes above pre-pandemic levels, with 20% of sectors having volumes more than double pre-pandemic levels. 
Line graph shows the percentage share of occupation sectors above threshold for Singapore job postings. With a vertical axis ranging from 0 to 100%, 92% of sectors have job posting volumes above pre-pandemic levels, with 20% of sectors having volumes more than double pre-pandemic levels. 

Posting growth mixed across occupations

While job postings rose in only 30% of occupational categories over the past three months, some of the gains were large. Postings in hospitality & tourism led the way, up 64.3% over the past three months, ahead of human resources (+37.1%), logistic support (+16.7%), veterinary (+16.5%) and cleaning & sanitation (+16.2%). 

Offsetting some of those gains were significant declines in dental (-27.1%), childcare (-23.1%), insurance (-17.6%), architecture (-16.8%) and pharmacy (-16.7%). Hiring in engineering took a backwards step, with postings in electrical, mechanical and industrial engineering all lower than three months ago.

Table shows the percentage change in Singapore job postings over the past three months. Indeed’s data shows that Singapore job postings for hospitality & tourism, human resources and logistic support rose the most over the past three months. By comparison, postings fell sharply in dental, childcare and insurance.
Table shows the percentage change in Singapore job postings over the past three months. Indeed’s data shows that Singapore job postings for hospitality & tourism, human resources and logistic support rose the most over the past three months. By comparison, postings fell sharply in dental, childcare and insurance.

The jobs that Singaporeans are least likely to leave

Singaporeans change jobs for many reasons. Higher pay or career advancement are obvious motivations. Some jobseekers might want to reduce stress, improve job security or enjoy greater work-life balance. Others might be motivated by a bad experience in their current job or even external factors, such as redundancy, health or relocation. 

Using Indeed’s resume data, we tracked career transitions to identify which roles workers were least likely to leave. Staying put can reflect strong work-life balance, pay and conditions, passion for the work or even an unwillingness to ‘waste’ your qualifications by moving on. 

To be clear: this does not mean a worker is loyal to an employer. Instead, it means that they are faithful to the profession. They might change employers regularly, but they rarely leave the profession.

From 2022 to 2024, registered nurses were the occupation workers were least likely to leave when finding a new job, with just 11.9% of job switchers finding a job outside the nursing profession. 

Leaving rates were also low among professional chefs, with just 12.7% of line cooks, 18.9% of chefs and 29.4% of cooks leaving the food preparation profession. 

Similarly, accountants tended to remain within their field: only 27.2% of audit associates, 31.1% of senior accountants and 32.5% of senior auditors left the accounting profession between 2022 and 2024. 

Table shows the share of Singaporean workers changing jobs who left their profession from 2022 to 2024. Indeed data shows that registered nurses and chefs are least likely to leave the profession when they change jobs.
Table shows the share of Singaporean workers changing jobs who left their profession from 2022 to 2024. Indeed data shows that registered nurses and chefs are least likely to leave the profession when they change jobs.

Conclusion

Singapore job postings rebounded slightly in September, but further moderation appears likely. Even so, the labour market remains tight, with the unemployment rate at 2.0% and skill shortages still common. 

For now, job creation remains sufficient to maintain low unemployment. However, if postings continue to decline, softer labour market conditions may emerge in the months ahead.