SINGAPORE: Singapore’s job market has taken a sharp turn. After ending 2025 on a stronger footing than many expected, businesses are now showing far less appetite to hire.
New survey data from the Economic Development Board (EDB) and Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS), reported by Vulcan Post, points to weaker business sentiment over the next six months and softer hiring plans across much of the economy.
When hiring slows there, the effects spread beyond office towers and into everyday spending, household planning, and career decisions.
Manufacturing finds support while other sectors lose steam
The outlook isn’t equally weak across every sector. Manufacturing seems to be holding up better than expected, supported by demand linked to artificial intelligence (AI), especially in semiconductor-related activity. According to the report, this strength has helped cushion weaker performance elsewhere in manufacturing.
Still, that support comes with limits. The article noted that gains are uneven and concentrated in select areas rather than broad-based growth, meaning stronger demand in one corner of the economy doesn’t automatically create opportunities across the board.
Services face the bigger hiring slowdown
Earlier in the year, most industries still expected to expand hiring after a stronger-than-expected 2025, but this optimism has now faded.
The latest business outlook shows that only recreation and personal services expect higher hiring activity. Several sectors that are usually seen as dependable employers are turning more cautious. Finance, viewed as a stable source of professional jobs, is also expected to face pressure rather than expansion.
Retail trade recorded one of the steepest changes in sentiment. Expectations moved from net positive territory earlier in the year into negative ground, making it one of the sectors facing the strongest pullback.
Longer job search periods and tougher competition for openings
Hiring sentiment doesn’t equal actual job losses, but it does act as an early signal. Companies usually reduce expansion plans before making larger workforce decisions. When uncertainty rises and costs increase, employers tend to delay recruitment and become more selective.
For Singaporeans planning a job switch, returning to work, or entering the market, this could mean longer search periods and tougher competition for openings.
At the same time, hiring slowdowns don’t hit every skill group equally. Areas linked to technology, automation and specialised industrial work may continue to see demand even as hiring cools.
Businesses are choosing caution in hiring for now
In summary, many employers seem to be waiting for greater stability before making hiring commitments.
Singapore has navigated difficult periods before and recovered faster than expected, but for now, the mood has changed from expansion to caution.
When hiring weakens, workers who keep skills current, stay flexible and expand their options usually give themselves the best chance of riding out slower cycles.
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