Overview of Hiring Activity
Singapore’s online hiring activity weakened further in May 2026, with the foundit Insights Tracker recording a year-on-year decline of 4% — a step back from the near-stabilisation seen in April, when the index had narrowed to just −1%. Month-on-month, the index slipped 3 points, reflecting a broad-based pullback across most industries and functions.
This softening is market-wide rather than sector-specific. Singapore’s overall hiring sentiment has cooled to its weakest in over a year, with employers taking longer to commit to hires amid global trade uncertainty and slower growth.
The near-term signals reflect this caution: hiring is down 1% over the last 3 months and 3% over the last 6 months. May’s data suggests the tentative recovery signals visible in April have not sustained, with demand now concentrated in a small number of resilient sectors while cost discipline spreads across the rest of the market — most visibly in financial services, where automation and offshoring are now actively reducing headcount. Advertising and technology remain the two bright spots in an otherwise soft market.
Hiring Trends by Industry (YoY change)
2 of the 14 industries tracked recorded positive year-on-year growth in May 2026. Two others held flat; the remaining ten registered declines.
In demand
Advertising, Market Research, PR, Media & Entertainment (+9%) The standout performer and the market’s clearest growth story. Marketing budgets keep flowing even as broader hiring tightens: Singapore’s total ad spend is growing at roughly twice the pace of the wider economy, with digital now around three-quarters of the total and social and influencer spend rising at double-digit rates. That sustained investment in digital marketing, content, and performance-led campaigns continues to drive demand for creative, campaign, and marketing-technology talent.
IT, Telecom/ISP & BPO/ITES (+3%) A second month of positive territory. Demand is concentrated in specialist AI, cloud, and cybersecurity profiles — the roles commanding the fastest pay growth in the market — while routine BPO and shared-services work continues to be rationalised. The net result is positive but cooling growth.
Holding steady
Production/Manufacturing, Automotive & Ancillary (0%) and Oil & Gas (0%) Both flat year-on-year, with targeted replacement hiring and operational continuity providing a floor without net expansion.
Facing challenges
BFSI (−10%) The steepest industry decline — and the clearest structural story in the market. Major banks are actively shrinking headcount as AI and offshoring absorb routine work: one of Singapore’s largest banks has flagged a reduction of around 4,000 roles over three years tied directly to AI, while others are moving technology and operations roles offshore under cost-saving programmes. After several unusually strong years, financial-sector growth is normalising, and finance now carries the weakest hiring outlook of any major Singapore sector.
Education (−7%) A sustained contraction driven by enrolment pressure, expenditure management, and institutional consolidation.
Health Care (−6%) Hiring continues to moderate as cost rationalisation weighs on replacement and expansion activity despite broadly stable underlying demand.
Engineering, Construction & Real Estate (−2%), Hospitality (−4%), Retail/Trade & Logistics (−4%), and a cluster of categories at −1% (Import/Export, Consumer Goods/FMCG, Government/PSU/Defence, Shipping/Marine) all reflect cautious, efficiency-focused hiring postures consistent with the broader market slowdown.
Hiring Trends by Functional Area (YoY change)
3 of the 11 functional areas recorded positive year-on-year growth in May 2026. One held flat; the remaining seven registered declines.
In demand
Customer Service (+2%), Software, Hardware & Telecom (+1%), and Marketing & Communications (+1%) retained modest positive growth, mirroring the resilience of the technology and advertising sectors at the industry level, though the pace eased month-on-month in line with the broader pullback.
Facing challenges
Legal (−15%) The most significant functional drag. The decline reflects a structural shift in how legal work is resourced — firms are leaning on external counsel and leaner in-house teams rather than expanding permanent legal headcount.
HR & Admin (−7%), Sales & Business Development (−6%), and Finance & Accounts (−5%) pulled back as cost caution spread across commercial and back-office functions, with organisations maintaining leaner structures and deferring frontline commercial expansion. Engineering/Production (−2%), Health Care (−3%), and Hospitality & Travel (−4%) extended their respective declines in line with industry-level weakness.
About the foundit Insights Tracker
The foundit Insights Tracker (fit) Singapore (formerly the Monster Employment Index) is a monthly benchmark of online hiring activity across the nation. By analysing millions of job postings, fit provides timely, data-led intelligence on recruitment trends across industries, occupations, and skill categories, helping organisations and talent navigate an evolving labour market.
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