Only 49% of 504 firms surveyed say that they intend to hire in H2 2011

DUE to the current volatility in global markets, hiring in Singapore is slowing down, with only 49 per cent of companies polled intending to hire in the second half of 2011. Of this, almost half intend to increase their workforce by less than 5 per cent.

According to the survey of 504 companies by employment agency Achieve Group, of the companies which reported that they intend to hire staff, 47 per cent plan to increase their workforce by less than 5 per cent; 34 per cent intend to increase their staff strength by 5 to 10 percent; while 19 per cent are planning to boost headcount by more than 10 per cent.

Breaking it down, the top sectors that intend to hire in H2 2011 are professional services, health care and pharmaceuticals, and industrial manufacturing and engineering.

In terms of salary increment for new hires, 35 per cent of survey participants indicated that they would offer a salary increment of less than 5 per cent; 40 per cent said that they would offer an increment of 5 to 10 per cent; 14 percent would offer an increment between 11 to 15%; and the remaining 11 per cent of companies plan to offer increments of more than 15 per cent.

In addition, the survey, which was conducted in June this year, polled all the companies on their foreign worker hiring preferences.

Of the 334 that currently hire S Pass holders, 18 per cent intend to hire more; 29 per cent will be hiring less; and 53 per cent reported no change in their hiring patterns.

Of the companies that intend to hire more S Pass holders, the top reason (51 per cent) stated was that companies were unable to do the job; followed by business expansion (17 per cent); lower salaries (8 per cent) and better work attitude (6 per cent).

In terms of E Passes, 404 companies, mainly from the professional services, oil and gas, banking and finance, and IT and telecommunications sectors, reported that they currently hire E Pass holders.

Of these, 72 per cent indicated a clear preference for hiring Singaporeans over E Pass holders; 4 per cent said that they would prefer to hire an E Pass holder; and the remaining 24 per cent had to preference or declined to comment.

Source: The Business Times Weekend – Saturday/Sunday 24-25 September 2011