(SINGAPORE) The job market is still not completely out of the woods, but its recovery - first reported a quarter ago - has gathered even more momentum, according to the latest poll taken by Manpower.
'Although weaker than historical patterns, Singapore employer hiring intentions have improved from three months ago,' the US-based employment services firm said yesterday when it released its Employment Outlook Survey.
Three months ago, Manpower's poll showed a sharp turnaround in the net employment outlook for the July-September quarter, from a negative 43 per cent in the previous quarter to a positive 5 per cent.
The latest poll of 635 employers shows that the net employment outlook - the percentage of employers looking to hire minus the percentage looking to cut staff - has jumped to a positive 14 per cent for the final three months of the year.
Seasonal factors contribute to the more upbeat prospects, but after adjusting for them, the net employment outlook is still a percentage point higher than three months ago.
'This will most likely lead to some labour market stability in the fourth quarter,' Manpower said.
Added Na Boon Chong of Aon Consulting: 'Among our clients across industries here, we are seeing a general upward trend in hiring activity. We are (also) getting more requests for compensation review as a way to fortify companies' ability to attract and retain talent.'
But Manpower's country manager in Singapore, Peter Haglund, cautioned that despite the worst being over for the economy - and Singapore is well placed to pick up strongly - 'we must keep in mind that we should not be prematurely optimistic about an overall recovery, as there are companies still looking into cost reduction through retrenchment'.
Many companies that are members of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC) are starting to hire again, but in a limited way, according to Phillip Overmyer, SICC's chief executive.
'Orders in many industries have grown somewhat over the last few months; however, some members are still cautious as they try to gain a better understanding from their customers as to whether these orders represent new end-user demand, or if they primarily represent restocking of inventories by intermediaries,' he said.
Cham Hui Fong, director for industrial relations at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said while job prospects for the third quarter were definitely better than they were in the second quarter, the picture is still mixed for the last quarter of the year.
Some companies in the unionised sector are planning to step up hiring, but many others are unsure of the orders for their products - and if they are recruiting, they are taking on workers only on short-term contracts.
David Ang, executive director of the Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI), said that there were signs indicating the job market was bouncing back, but he wondered if this could be sustained.
He asked how much of the pick-up was propped up by government spending. And if the stimulus package were withdrawn prematurely, would the rebound collapse?
'It's still too early to tell,' Mr Ang said.
He said the government had stepped up its staff recruitment, helping to boost the job market.
The Manpower poll shows the seasonally adjusted net employment outlook for the public administration and education sector is a positive 19 per cent for the next three months. That says the sector has among the best prospects for job seekers, but not the best.
The reading for the finance, insurance and real estate sector's net employment outlook is higher: a seasonally adjusted 20 per cent.
The transport & utilities sector and the wholesale trade & retail sector have a net employment outlook of 19 per cent and 18 per cent respectively, on par with the public administration and education sector.
Manufacturing is the only one of the seven industry sectors in the Manpower survey that has a negative net employment outlook - minus 11 per cent.
Source: Business Times, 8 Sep 2009
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