The number of job vacancies reached an all-time high in 2021 as the local economy continues to adjust to the easing of safe management measures amidst the rapidly evolving economic conditions.
The Ministry of Manpower released its Job Vacancies Report for 2021 on 1 April 2022, which showed that 44 per cent of all job vacancies last year were newly created positions – a slight upward trend from the year 2018 (42 per cent) when the data was first collected.
Earlier this month, the ministry released its Labour Market Report for 2021, and it showed that there were some 117,100 job vacancies in Singapore in December 2021.
For the vacant PMET positions, some of the common challenges faced by employers included finding candidates with the necessary skills and work experience, as well as increased competition from other employers.
Reasons cited for not being able to fill non-PMET roles included the strenuous nature of the role, unattractive pay and candidates finding the working environment not conducive.
Manpower Minister Tan See Leng commented that the record high job vacancies and growth in employment are clear indications that the economy is recovering from the pandemic.
“We hope that employers can commit to put in more resources in training and upscaling the available manpower to meet the longer-term gains,” he said.
Dr Tan also urged employers to adopt a “plug-train-play” mindset when hiring through the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme as well as the Career Conversion Programme.
According to the report, the proportion of new vacancies were higher in growth industries.
The top three industries with the highest number of new vacancies included the information & communications, construction, and transportation and storage sectors.
Dr Tan said: “Domestically, the pandemic has accelerated the trend towards digitalisation, leading to greater demand for technological skills.”
IT PMET roles saw the highest demand for software, web & multimedia developers, and systems analysts. There was also strong demand for engineering professionals such as electronics and industrial & production engineers, and business professionals in commercial & marketing sales and business development positions.
PMET jobs which saw high growth included network, communications & infrastructure managers; graphic and multimedia designers; database designers and administrators; civil engineering technicians.
Top in-demand non-PMET roles included construction workers, and electrical and electronic equipment assemblers. There was also a high demand for cleaners, security guards and heavy truck drivers.
Non-PMET jobs which saw high growth included production operators, production clerks, light goods vehicle drivers and transport clerks.
Dr Tan shared that the proportion of non-PMET vacancies have increased over the last two year largely due to the closure of borders, which have restricted the inflow of foreign workers.
“In the months ahead, we are ramping up reopening and I think that this issue will largely abate,” he shared.
