These are the most in-demand jobs in Singapore right now

Singapore’s labour market remained tight in 2024, with new roles making up nearly half of all job vacancies, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in its annual Job Vacancies Report.

The most sought-after professionals were those in teaching and training, software development and marketing sales, among other fields.

Overall, there were 164 vacancies for every 100 job seekers in December 2024, down from 176 in December 2023. 

Newly created positions made up 45.7 per cent of all vacancies in 2024, a slight dip from 47.3 per cent in 2023 but still on an uptrend over the years, MOM said in a press release accompanying the report on March 28.

Within the information and communications sector, 75 per cent of the vacancies were freshly created in 2024, reflecting the industry’s dynamism and competitiveness.

On the other hand, retail trade and food and beverage services saw declines in the proportion of new jobs, after peaking in 2023. This reflected the two sectors’ slower business momentum as residents shifted their spending to overseas travel destinations, according to the report.

In 2014, professional, managerial, executive and technician (PMET) roles made up only 43.4 per cent of job vacancies. Ten years on, the number hit 57.7 per cent as the Singapore workforce became more educated.

MOM noted that the demand for PMET roles was more pronounced in growth sectors such as information and communications, financial and insurance services and professional services. Between 2014 and 2024, resident PMET employment in these sectors grew by 227,500, while the number of Employment Pass and S Pass holders rose by 22,100.

During a visit to professional services firm KPMG on March 28, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng told the media that local and foreign PMET employment in growth sectors rose in parallel. “This suggests the complementarity of the resident and non-resident workforce,” he said.

Hot jobs

The most in-demand PMET workers in 2024 were teaching and training professionals. This category excludes pre-school teachers.

Associate Professor Yeo Li Pheow, executive director of the Institute for Adult Learning, said that as industries evolve, the need for trainers in specialised fields such as artificial intelligence, data sciences and cyber security is growing.

“It is not surprising to see the strong demand. More companies may also see the need to step up the training of their staff to equip them with the ability to better navigate the shifting workplace,” he said.

Software, web and multimedia developers came in second, after topping the list of top PMET vacancies in the previous two years. They continued to command the highest wages, with employers prepared to offer them $6,000 to $12,000 in monthly salary.

Other sought-after workers include commercial and marketing sales executives, civil engineers, financial and investment advisers, industrial and production engineers, computer network, infrastructure and platform professionals, nurses and pre-school teachers.

There was a huge jump in vacancies for financial and investment advisers, probably due to more global uncertainties, said Ms Serena Fernando, senior consultant for banking and financial services at Robert Walters Singapore.

As investors’ risk appetites changed, the demand for fund managers with expertise in diversifying risks by exploring alternative investments could have risen too, she said.

Meanwhile, for non-PMET roles, waiters, cleaners, shop sales assistants, receptionists and construction workers were highest in demand.

These roles were also among the hardest to fill, with many citing long hours, low pay and physically demanding work as key deterrents.

As for PMET jobs, financial and investment adviser roles can be hard to fill due to the shortage of candidates with specialised skills. Similarly, teaching and training roles often demand relevant work experiences.

Better job matches

Overall, the proportion of job vacancies left unfilled for at least six months has declined over the past decade, from 41.4 per cent in 2014 to 19.4 per cent in 2024 – driven mainly by non-PMET vacancies.

“This reflects successful efforts to alleviate the manpower crunch for non-PMET jobs through access to foreign manpower, technology adoption, job redesign, skills upgrading, as well as efforts to raise wages through the Progressive Wage Model,” MOM said in its report.

In a media briefing on March 27, MOM highlighted that job-matching efficiency – which refers to individuals taking up the jobs they want – improved in 2023 and 2024.

The ministry noted that both the unemployment rate and the job vacancy rate have declined, reflecting the labour market’s improved efficiency.

With increased focus on skills-based hiring, more employers are looking beyond academic credentials when recruiting, even for PMET roles, said MOM.

The share of PMET vacancies where academic qualifications were not the main hiring consideration rose significantly, from 42 per cent in 2017 to 70.3 per cent in 2024.

For this report, MOM surveyed private sector firms with at least 25 employees each and the public sector, comprising ministries, organs of state and statutory boards.

A total of 15,040 establishments employing 1,857,400 employees responded to the survey, representing a response rate of 85.6 per cent.

The article was originally published in The Straits Times.