In Q4 2022, hiring demand for the Technology sector is seen to be lower as compared to Q3 2022. In addition to GAFA and MNC retrenchments, startups are also laying off staff on regular basis. As a result, the tech recruitment market has taken a hit, and many companies are taking a relook at their headcount and hiring plans for 2023.
On the other hand, job-seeking activities have increased. The expatriate workforce is gradually rising to the pre-pandemic level as borders have opened up and more foreigners are keen to work in Singapore. While there is an increase in the number of backend developers, data scientists and cybersecurity candidates, there is still some difficulty in maintaining the talent supply.
Although Q3 saw a number of high-profile tech giants announcing layoffs, vacancies in the sector remained high in Q4, suggesting that these retrenchments were a consequence of restructuring efforts within these organisations. On the whole, hiring activity within the Technology sector remained relatively high.
As the challenges facing China and Hong Kong during 2022 persist, we see an increasing number of Chinese tech companies seeking to expand their presence in Singapore. Consequently, this has fuelled demand for certain roles, particularly in the Fintech/ Financial Services companies that are seeking to capitalise on Singapore’s status as a leading financial hub in the region.
As a result, clients are struggling to find candidates with the full spectrum of prerequisite skills while talent pools are slowly recovering from the loss of niche skills sets due to the pandemic. We also see the continuing trend of companies pulling out all the stops to retain their existing staff rather than face the pain of replacing staff. As such, they are making counter offers to staff who are intending to resign, giving them the advantage of getting salary increments without making a job change.
Find out more in our comprehensive report here which provides in-depth analysis of the prevailing job market trends in Singapore in Q4 2022.
In this article:
IT & Digital
RGF Professional Recruitment Singapore
