{"id":50121,"date":"2026-02-24T17:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T11:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/?p=50121"},"modified":"2026-02-24T17:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T11:39:11","slug":"foundit-insights-tracker-singapore-jan-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/foundit-insights-tracker-singapore-jan-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore&#8217;s Hiring Landscape in January 2026:\u00a0foundit\u00a0Insights Tracker\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Overview of Hiring Activity<\/strong>&nbsp;<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Singapore&rsquo;s online hiring activity remained flat month-on-month in January 2026, with the&nbsp;foundit&nbsp;Insights Tracker index holding at 94. While the <strong>near-term 3-month trend shows a marginal 1% uptick<\/strong> &mdash; driven by replacement hiring and steady demand in financial services, healthcare, and construction &mdash; the broader picture&nbsp;remains&nbsp;soft, with&nbsp;hiring down&nbsp;3% over six months and 6% year-on-year.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The annual decline reflects sustained employer caution through 2025, as companies pulled back from broad-based expansion in&nbsp;favour&nbsp;of selective, replacement, and contract hiring amid weaker global growth visibility, margin pressure, and tighter workforce planning.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beneath the headline, the market&nbsp;remains&nbsp;split: Advertising &amp; Media leads industry&nbsp;growth,&nbsp;Technology and Healthcare functions are outperforming annually, while Legal, Real Estate, and Sales roles face the sharpest declines.&nbsp;<\/p><div data-wp-interactive=\"core\/file\" class=\"wp-block-file aligncenter\"><object data-wp-bind--hidden=\"!state.hasPdfPreview\" hidden class=\"wp-block-file__embed\" data=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fit_SG_-Jan26.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of &lt;strong&gt;Singapore Hiring Trends in January 2026&lt;\/strong&gt;   .\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-145f5ba7-1527-4891-b3b8-b5cf28aecf9f\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fit_SG_-Jan26.pdf\"><strong>Singapore Hiring Trends in January 2026<\/strong>   <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/fit_SG_-Jan26.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-145f5ba7-1527-4891-b3b8-b5cf28aecf9f\">Download<\/a><\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Hiring Trends by Industry (YoY change)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">10 of the 15 industry sectors&nbsp;monitored&nbsp;by the tracker recorded positive or flat hiring activity year-on-year, though the gains are&nbsp;largely concentrated&nbsp;rather than broad-based.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In demand<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Advertising, Market Research, PR, Media &amp; Entertainment (+8%)<\/strong>&nbsp;The strongest-performing industry year-on-year, sustained by digital marketing investments, performance media, and content hiring as firms continue to drive brand demand.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Production\/Manufacturing, Automotive &amp; Ancillary (+2%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Steady industrial&nbsp;output&nbsp;and demand for precision and advanced manufacturing roles are supporting modest growth.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Engineering, Construction &amp; Real Estate (+1%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Marginal&nbsp;positive growth&nbsp;reflects ongoing infrastructure activity, data&nbsp;centre&nbsp;projects, and selective real estate development.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>IT, Telecom\/ISP &amp; BPO\/ITES (+1%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Selective hiring in digital and infrastructure roles is keeping this sector in positive territory.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Facing challenges<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Education (&minus;10%)<\/strong>&nbsp;A significant annual decline, driven by lower enrolments, budget tightening, and consolidation across institutions and training providers.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Import\/Export (&minus;4%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Softer global trade volumes and cautious expansion by trading firms continue to weigh on hiring.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Consumer Goods\/FMCG cluster (&minus;3%)<\/strong>&nbsp;Muted consumer demand and margin pressure are limiting new hiring across this segment.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Retail\/Trade &amp; Logistics (&minus;1%<\/strong>) A slight dip reflecting weak consumption and efficiency-led cost control in consumer-facing formats.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Others (&minus;15%)<\/strong>&nbsp;The steepest industry decline, with broad-based contraction across smaller and mixed verticals.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Hiring Trends by Functional Area (YoY change)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4 out of 13 job functions recorded positive annual growth in January 2026, with Technology and Healthcare leading, while Legal remains under severe pressure.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>In demand<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/search\/health-care-jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Health Care<\/a><\/strong> (+5%)<\/strong>&nbsp;Demand for clinical, allied health, and care delivery roles&nbsp;remains&nbsp;strong, driven by population ageing and sustained healthcare&nbsp;utilisation.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Software, Hardware &amp; Telecom (+4%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Continued demand for digital, cloud, cybersecurity, and network roles is sustaining growth despite overall hiring caution.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/search\/marketing-communications-jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Marketing &amp; Communications<\/a><\/strong> (+1%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Stable demand for digital marketing, performance campaigns, and customer engagement roles is keeping this function in modest positive territory.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Purchase\/Logistics\/Supply Chain (0%)<\/strong>&nbsp;Flat but steady, supported by non-expansionary but consistent operational needs.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Facing challenges<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/search\/legal-jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Legal&nbsp;<\/a><\/strong>(&minus;30%)&nbsp;<\/strong>The sharpest annual decline across all functions, as companies reduced non-core hiring,&nbsp;consolidated&nbsp;in-house legal teams, and relied more on external counsel amid cost pressure.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sales &amp; Business Development (&minus;7%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Firms have paused sales force expansion, focusing instead on productivity and retention&nbsp;over growth.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/search\/finance-accounts-jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Finance &amp; Accounts&nbsp;<\/a><\/strong> (&minus;6%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Automation and cost controls continue to reduce incremental hiring across finance functions.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/search\/customer-service-jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Customer Service<\/a>&nbsp;<\/strong> (&minus;5%) and Hospitality&nbsp;Roles&nbsp;(&minus;5%)<\/strong>&nbsp;Both functions softened due to cautious consumer demand and efficiency-led staffing models.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Engineering\/Production (&minus;3%)<\/strong>&nbsp;Reflects selective hiring outside niche manufacturing sub-sectors.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>HR &amp; Admin (&minus;2%)<\/strong>&nbsp;Firms continue to limit back-office expansion as cost discipline persists.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About the&nbsp;foundit&nbsp;Insights Tracker<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The&nbsp;foundit&nbsp;Insights Tracker (fit) Singapore (formerly the Monster Employment Index) is a monthly benchmark of online hiring activity across the nation. By&nbsp;analysing&nbsp;millions of job postings, fit provides&nbsp;timely, data-led intelligence on recruitment trends across industries, occupations, and skill categories, helping&nbsp;organisations&nbsp;and talent navigate an evolving&nbsp;labour&nbsp;market.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview of Hiring Activity&nbsp;Singapore&rsquo;s online hiring activity remained flat month-on-month in January 2026, with the&nbsp;foundit&nbsp;Insights Tracker index holding at 94. While the near-term 3-month trend shows a marginal 1% uptick &mdash; driven by replacement hiring and steady demand in financial services, healthcare, and construction &mdash; the broader picture&nbsp;remains&nbsp;soft, with&nbsp;hiring down&nbsp;3% over six months and 6% &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/foundit-insights-tracker-singapore-jan-2026\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Singapore&#8217;s Hiring Landscape in January 2026:\u00a0foundit\u00a0Insights Tracker\u00a0<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50121","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insights-tracker"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50121","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50121"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50137,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50121\/revisions\/50137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}