{"id":51527,"date":"2026-06-18T12:19:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/?p=51527"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:19:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T06:49:18","slug":"foundit-insights-tracker-singapore-may-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/foundit-insights-tracker-singapore-may-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Singapore\u2019s Hiring Landscape in May 2026:\u00a0foundit\u00a0Insights Tracker\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Overview of Hiring Activity&nbsp;<\/strong><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Singapore&rsquo;s online hiring activity weakened further in May 2026, with the&nbsp;foundit&nbsp;Insights Tracker recording a year-on-year decline of 4% &mdash; a step back from the near-stabilisation&nbsp;seen in April, when the index had narrowed to just &minus;1%. Month-on-month, the index slipped 3 points, reflecting a broad-based pullback across most industries and functions.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br>This softening is market-wide rather than sector-specific. Singapore&rsquo;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.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br>The near-term signals reflect this caution: hiring is down 1% over the last 3 months and 3% over the last 6 months. May&rsquo;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&nbsp;cost discipline spreads across the rest of the market &mdash; most visibly in financial services, where automation and offshoring are now actively reducing headcount.&nbsp;Advertising and technology remain the two bright spots in an otherwise soft market.&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\/06\/fit_SG__May_26_.pdf\" type=\"application\/pdf\" style=\"width:100%;height:600px\" aria-label=\"Embed of &lt;strong&gt;Singapore Hiring Trends in May 2026_&lt;\/strong&gt;.\"><\/object><a id=\"wp-block-file--media-052c1a3e-6aca-45af-87cc-2f4217316e7a\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fit_SG__May_26_.pdf\"><strong>Singapore Hiring Trends in May 2026_<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/fit_SG__May_26_.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download aria-describedby=\"wp-block-file--media-052c1a3e-6aca-45af-87cc-2f4217316e7a\">Download<\/a><\/div><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><\/strong>&nbsp;<br><strong>Hiring Trends by Industry (YoY change)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br><strong>2 of the 14 industries tracked recorded positive year-on-year growth in May 2026.<\/strong>&nbsp;Two others held flat; the remaining ten registered declines.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<br><strong>In demand<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br><strong>Advertising, Market Research, PR, Media &amp; Entertainment (+9%)&nbsp;<\/strong>The standout performer and the market&rsquo;s clearest growth story.&nbsp;Marketing budgets keep flowing even as broader hiring tightens: Singapore&rsquo;s total ad spend is growing at&nbsp;roughly twice&nbsp;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.&nbsp;That sustained investment in digital marketing, content, and performance-led campaigns continues to drive demand for creative, campaign, and marketing-technology talent.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br><strong>IT, Telecom\/ISP &amp; BPO\/ITES (+3%)&nbsp;<\/strong>A second month of positive territory.&nbsp;Demand is concentrated&nbsp;in&nbsp;specialist AI, cloud, and cybersecurity profiles &mdash; the roles commanding the fastest pay growth in the market &mdash; while routine BPO and&nbsp;shared-services&nbsp;work continues to be&nbsp;rationalised.&nbsp;The net result is positive but cooling growth.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<br><strong>Holding steady<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br><strong>Production\/Manufacturing, Automotive &amp; Ancillary (0%)<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>Oil &amp; Gas (0%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Both flat year-on-year, with targeted replacement hiring and operational continuity providing a floor without net expansion.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<br><strong>Facing challenges<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br><strong>BFSI (&minus;10%)&nbsp;<\/strong>The steepest industry decline &mdash; and the clearest structural story in the market.&nbsp;Major banks are actively shrinking headcount as AI and offshoring absorb routine work: one of Singapore&rsquo;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&nbsp;programmes. After several unusually strong years, financial-sector growth is&nbsp;normalising, and finance now carries the weakest hiring outlook of any major Singapore sector.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Education (&minus;7%)&nbsp;<\/strong>A sustained contraction driven by enrolment pressure, expenditure management, and institutional consolidation.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/search\/health-care-jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Health Care<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> (&minus;6%)&nbsp;<\/strong>Hiring continues to moderate as cost&nbsp;rationalisation&nbsp;weighs on replacement and expansion activity despite broadly stable underlying demand.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Engineering, Construction &amp; Real Estate (&minus;2%)<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Hospitality (&minus;4%)<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Retail\/Trade &amp; Logistics (&minus;4%)<\/strong>, and a cluster of categories at&nbsp;<strong>&minus;1%&nbsp;<\/strong>(Import\/Export, Consumer Goods\/FMCG, Government\/PSU\/Defence, Shipping\/Marine) all reflect cautious, efficiency-focused hiring postures consistent with the broader market slowdown.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><\/strong>&nbsp;<br><strong>Hiring Trends by Functional Area (YoY change)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br><strong>3 of the 11 functional areas recorded positive year-on-year growth in May 2026.<\/strong>&nbsp;One held flat; the remaining seven registered declines.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<br><strong>In demand<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br><strong>Customer Service (+2%)<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Software, Hardware &amp; Telecom (+1%)<\/strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>Marketing &amp; Communications (+1%)&nbsp;<\/strong>retained modest positive growth,&nbsp;mirroring the resilience of the technology and advertising sectors at the industry level,&nbsp;though the pace eased month-on-month in line with the broader pullback.&nbsp;<\/p><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<br><strong>Facing challenges<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h3><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br><strong><strong><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/search\/legal-jobs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Legal<\/a><\/strong><\/strong> (&minus;15%)&nbsp;<\/strong>The most significant functional drag.&nbsp;The decline reflects a structural shift in how legal work is resourced &mdash; firms are&nbsp;leaning on&nbsp;external counsel and&nbsp;leaner&nbsp;in-house teams rather than expanding permanent legal headcount.&nbsp;<\/p><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br><strong>HR &amp; Admin (&minus;7%)<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Sales &amp; Business Development (&minus;6%)<\/strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>Finance &amp; Accounts (&minus;5%)&nbsp;<\/strong>pulled back as&nbsp;cost caution spread across commercial and back-office functions,&nbsp;with&nbsp;organisations&nbsp;maintaining&nbsp;leaner structures and deferring frontline commercial expansion.&nbsp;<strong>Engineering\/Production (&minus;2%)<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Health Care (&minus;3%)<\/strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>Hospitality &amp; Travel (&minus;4%)&nbsp;<\/strong>extended their respective declines in line with industry-level weakness.&nbsp;<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&nbsp;<br><strong>About the&nbsp;foundit&nbsp;Insights Tracker<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2><p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<br>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><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview of Hiring Activity&nbsp;Singapore&rsquo;s online hiring activity weakened further in May 2026, with the&nbsp;foundit&nbsp;Insights Tracker recording a year-on-year decline of 4% &mdash; a step back from the near-stabilisation&nbsp;seen in April, when the index had narrowed to just &minus;1%. Month-on-month, the index slipped 3 points, reflecting a broad-based pullback across most industries and functions.&nbsp;&nbsp;This softening is &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/foundit-insights-tracker-singapore-may-2026\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Singapore\u2019s Hiring Landscape in May 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-51527","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\/51527","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=51527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51529,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51527\/revisions\/51529"}],"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=51527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.foundit.sg\/career-advice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}