{
  "id": 6184745,
  "title": "Singapore employers grow selective as nearly half plan to hold headcount steady in Q4: survey",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/07/singapore-employers-grow-selective-as-nearly-half-plan-to-hold",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-07T23:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Business Times - Companies & Markets",
    "slug": "the-business-times-companies-markets",
    "url": "https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/singapore-employers-grow-selective-nearly-half-plan-hold-headcount-steady-q4-survey"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nearly half of Singapore's employers plan to maintain current staffing levels through the final quarter of 2026, according to a recent ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey released on Tuesday. The survey found that the seasonally adjusted net employment outlook for Q4 2026 stands at 13%, unchanged from the previous quarter but down seven points compared to the same period last year. This softest hiring forecast since Q4 2021 highlights a growing selectivity among Singaporean firms.\n\nForty-seven percent of the 651 surveyed employers expect to keep headcount steady between October and December, up six percentage points from Q3. Thirty-two percent plan to add staff, down from 35%, while 19% anticipate reductions, and 2% remain undecided. Linda Teo, country manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore, noted that organizations are becoming more disciplined in allocating headcount, investing only where there is a clear business need. The construction sector leads the hiring outlook at 22%, followed by finance and insurance (20%) and tech and IT services (17%). Sectors with weaker hiring intentions include information (7%) and professional, scientific, and technical services (6%).\n\nMedium-sized companies with 10 to 49 employees reported the strongest hiring intentions (24%), while large enterprises with 5,000 or more employees had a cautious 2% outlook. The longer hiring timelines and candidate-job mismatches are becoming significant challenges for employers. A third of firms reported that filling vacancies takes longer than a year ago, with candidate-job mismatch cited as the top obstacle (43%), followed by a lack of required skills (35%) and local talent shortages (29%). Despite the cautious hiring outlook, early-career hiring remains relatively stable, with 37% of companies increasing entry-level intake compared to last year, while 39% hold steady.",
  "summary": "The Republic’s seasonally adjusted net employment outlook stands at 13% for Q4",
  "key_points": [
    "47% of Singapore employers plan to keep headcount steady in Q4 2026",
    "Construction sector leads hiring outlook at 22%",
    "Candidate-job mismatches and local talent shortages pose challenges"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}