SINGAPORE – Fresh opportunities arising from Singapore’s evolving economy are showing up in the job market, as the share of newly-created positions reached a high of 47.3 per cent out of all vacancies in 2023.
This is up from 38.7 per cent in 2022, and is the largest share recorded since the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) began tracking this figure in 2018.
Jobs with a technology focus remained strong in 2023 despite the restructuring and layoffs in tech firms, said the ministry on March 25.
Software, Web and multimedia developers were in hottest demand among professional, managerial, executive and technician (PMET) roles, contributing the largest share to PMET vacancies in 2023, like in 2022.
Job vacancies for system analysts also remained within the top ten PMET vacancies.
MOM said in a statement accompanying its full-year job vacancies report that the majority of newly-created positions arose due to business expansion into existing and new functions.
“This reflects the evolving nature of our economy and the accompanying changes in manpower demand.”
Overall, the labour market remained tight, as openings continued to outnumber job seekers, said the ministry.
There were 174 job vacancies for every 100 job seekers in December 2023, up from 164 vacancies in September 2023.
The proportion of vacancies that were for PMET roles continued to rise, reaching 57.2 per cent in 2023, up from 56 per cent in 2022 and 39.2 per cent in 2013.
MOM said the higher demand for skilled workers over the decade was seen particularly in sectors such as information and communications, financial and insurance services, professional services, and health and social services.
The report said that besides strong demand for tech jobs in 2023, job openings for business development and sales professionals rose as establishments sought to expand their businesses and improve the efficiency of their processes.
The demand for registered nurses and enrolled nurses has also remained strong as the healthcare sector continued to expand.
The ministry also said employers were willing to pay more to fill these positions, compared with the year before.
