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Job Vacancies 2015

Statistics and publications Employment practices

JOB VACANCIES DECLINED OVER THE YEAR; 4 IN 10 OF JOB VACANCIES ARE PMET JOBS

Job Vacancies 2015

  1. Job vacancies declined over the year in September 2015 amid softer economic conditions. However, openings remained available for all occupations, with service & sales workers, professionals and associate professionals & technicians most sought after.  These are the key findings from the “Job Vacancies 2015” report released by the Manpower Research and Statistics Department, Ministry of Manpower.

    Main Findings
  2. The number of job vacancies declined over the year to 60,000 in September 2015 amid softer economic conditions. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the ratio between the job vacancies and unemployed persons declined for the second consecutive quarter to 116 openings per 100 job seekers in September 2015, from 121 in June and 143 in March.
  3. The decline in vacancies was broad-based for all occupational groups.  However, vacancies remained available for all occupations.  Four in ten of job vacancies were for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (23,220 or 43% of total vacancies) such as teaching & training professionals, management executives, commercial & marketing sales executives and software, web & multimedia developers. This was followed by service and sales workers (12,270 or 23%), such as waiters, security guards and shop sales assistants.
  4. The proportion of vacancies unfilled for at least six months (39%) declined from a year ago (41%).  Occupations in higher demand and turnover such as service and sales workers and cleaners, labourers & related workers remained more likely to be hard-to-fill.  On the other hand, only about two in every ten PMET openings were unfilled for extended periods.
  5. Employers indicated unattractive pay, long working hours, physically strenuous job nature and shift work as difficulties in recruiting locals to fill non-PMET openings. For PMETs, unattractive pay and the lack of necessary work experience were common reasons for hard-to-fill openings.
  6. Vacancies were available for all educational levels, with more for both ends of the educational spectrum. Specifically, those requiring at least primary or lower (13,890 or 25%) and university degree qualifications (13,150 or 24%) were most in demand. There were also openings for secondary (10,280 or 19%) and diploma & professional qualifications (9,090 or 17%).

    Conclusion
  7. Amid softer economic conditions and continued efforts to restructure towards a more productive and manpower-lean economy, the number of job vacancies has declined. However, it is still more than the number of jobseekers. Companies will have to improve the quality and attractiveness of their jobs to fill up their vacancies faster. Likewise, jobseekers will also have to make themselves more employable and adaptable to land a job faster. Going forward, MOM will continue to work with tripartite partners to strengthen the Singaporean core in the workforce by creating more quality jobs to meet the rising career aspirations of Singaporeans; equipping Singaporeans with the right skills and competencies through SkillsFuture; and better matching them with higher-skilled jobs in the economy. 

    For More Information
  8. The report is available on the Ministry of Manpower’s website at http://stats.mom.gov.sg/.