Key Highlights of the Month
The foundit Insights Tracker (fit) held Singapore’s July recovery into August 2026. The index stayed at 96, unchanged month-on-month, while the year-on-year decline held at 1% — matching July’s reading and marking two consecutive months at the narrowest annual gap since April.
Over a longer horizon the recovery firms. The index is up 4% over three months — a sharp step-up from +1% a month ago — and 2% over six. Hiring has traded in a 92–96 band all year, and this is the first time it has sat at the top of that band for two consecutive months.
The improvement remains selective. Consumer goods, advertising and media, and technology continue to lead, alongside customer-facing and marketing roles. Banking’s decline narrows sharply and health care returns to flat, while hospitality, legal and HR remain in structural retreat as automation keeps removing routine headcount.
Hiring Trends – Industry
5 of the 14 industry sectors monitored by the tracker recorded positive annual growth in hiring demand.
Consumer Goods/FMCG (+12%) again held the top slot as retail brands kept rebuilding front-line and supply-side teams.
Advertising, Market Research, PR, Media & Entertainment (+12%) matched the pace as digital and social spend continued to pull in creative and campaign talent.
IT, Telecom/ISP & BPO/ITES (+6%) eased a shade from July but stayed the largest-volume gainer, with AI, cloud and cybersecurity demand holding. Production/Manufacturing (+2%) and Engineering, Construction & Real Estate (+2%) rounded out the positives on steady project-led hiring.
Government/PSU/Defence (0%), Health Care (0%), Shipping/Marine (0%) and Oil & Gas (0%) were flat year-on-year, with Health Care’s return to level from −3% the most notable move. Import/Export (−1%) recorded only a token decline, still weighed down by soft global trade and tariff uncertainty.
Hospitality (−9%) was the steepest faller, with tourism demand still selective.
BFSI (−6%) and Retail/Trade & Logistics (−5%) both stayed under pressure, though BFSI narrowed sharply from July’s −11%.
Education (−3%) rounded out the declines on continued expenditure discipline.
* All figures represent percentage change between August ’25 and August ’26
Hiring Trends – Functional Area
4 of the 11 job functions recorded positive annual growth in hiring in August 2026.
Software, Hardware & Telecom (+6%) led all functional categories, accelerating from July’s +4% as tech hiring firmed alongside the industry-side pickup.
Marketing & Communications (+5%) held its lead among consumer-facing roles, extending the tail of Singapore’s strongest industry cluster.
Customer Service (+4%) stayed firm on steady support-desk demand, and Engineering/Production (+2%) edged higher on continued project-led hiring.
Purchase/Logistics/Supply Chain (0%) returned to flat from July’s −2%, and Finance & Accounts (−1%) narrowed sharply from a −5% reading a month earlier, while Sales & Business Development (−6%) slipped further after July’s setback, with commercial teams still being rebuilt selectively rather than at scale.
Health Care(−4%) also softened on the year, reversing part of an earlier recovery in hiring for hospital and clinical roles.
Hospitality & Travel (−11%) fell in line with the tourism slowdown at industry level, and HR & Admin (−9%) continued its steady retreat as organisations hold leaner structures.
Legal (−11%) shared the steepest slot, as firms lean on outside counsel and run leaner in-house teams rather than adding permanent lawyers. Hiring remains firmest where work is customer-facing or creative, and weakest where it can be automated or done with fewer people.
* All figures represent percentage change between August ’25 and August ’26
About foundit APAC & Middle East
foundit, formerly Monster (APAC & ME), is Asia’s leading jobs and talent platform offering comprehensive employment solutions to recruiters and job seekers across APAC & ME. In addition to a powerful AI-powered job search, foundit offers e-learning, assessments, and services related to resume creation, interview preparation, and professional networking. Since its inception, the company has assisted over 120 million job seekers across 18 countries in connecting them with the right job opportunities and upskilling. foundit is now also the Official Talent Partner of the Badminton World Federation across 20 key world tour events.
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