Singapore sees more job openings but tougher competition, say job-matching platforms

“I think a lot of businesses are concerned around the global economic environment, which has certainly become a little less predictable this year.”

Indeed’s data also shows that Singapore’s job figures have been trending down over the past three years.

Mr Pickering said this is largely due to a drop in momentum following the post-pandemic hiring boom.

While the economy continues to create jobs, he pointed out that the pace of growth has eased compared to about a year ago.

Mr Pickering added that business leaders often make hiring decisions based on reliable growth forecasts about their companies and the wider economy.

“That’s increasingly difficult this year,” he said. “I think that’s probably playing into some of the headcount decisions that businesses are making across Singapore at the moment.”

Professor Lawrence Loh, from the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School’s strategy and policy department, said that job postings serve as a key indicator of labour market health.

Measures such as government-sponsored traineeships could help support the labour market, especially when many companies are reluctant to take on new employees, he said.

“The saving in the cost is definitely an incentive. But on the other hand, having too many traineeships actually distorts the market forces, because it’s not a real reflection of the demand conditions for jobs,” he added.

“There might even be an ironic effect that you have more firms signing up for traineeship rather than actually offering jobs.”

Prof Loh cautioned that while traineeships can offer short-term relief, they cannot be a permanent solution.

He said schemes need to be carefully calibrated to avoid distorting the market and to ensure jobseekers are not left vulnerable if support is scaled back.