MORE Singapore bosses now say they will employ new staff in the next three months, compared to the employers polled for the first three months of this year, according to a survey.

This finding of a quarterly survey done by Manpower, a US-based employment services agency, is based on a measure called net employment outlook.

It is the difference between the proportion of employers anticipating total employment to increase, and the percentage of those expecting a decrease.

In Manpower's latest finding, the seasonally adjusted net employment outlook is 60 per cent for the next three months, compared to 51 per cent in the previous quarter and 54 per cent year-on-year.

This is the strongest showing since the survey of employers' plans to hire and fire began here in 2003.

A total of 650 bosses were surveyed in Singapore and the poll is part of a worldwide survey of more than 55,000 public and private employers.

In Singapore, it found that 65 per cent of employers anticipate a rise in total employment, against 3 per cent who see a decrease and 28 per cent who predict no change.

The survey covers seven sectors, including manufacturing and services.

The most optimistic sectors are public administration and education, with a net outlook of 81 per cent. Following them are: transport and utilities (78 per cent); finance, insurance and real estate (68 per cent); construction (67 per cent); wholesale and retail trade (61 per cent); services (57 per cent); and manufacturing (46 per cent).

Manpower Singapore's country manager Rosa Goh expects competition to hot up among Singapore residents and foreigners.

She told The Straits Times: 'Singapore job-seekers will be fighting harder with neighbouring countrymen to vie for the more popular jobs in Singapore.'

These jobs will be in such areas as engineering, information technology, banking and finance.

Her company is seeing more qualified and Englisheducated job-seekers from Vietnam, Indonesia and other nearby countries, she added.

Citigroup economist Chua Hak Bin, however, reckons that hiring will slow considerably this year, with the economy adding 70,000 jobs, down from last year's record 236,600.

The outlook for manufacturing is bleak with fears of recession in the United States. Similarly, it is gloomy in financial services, a result of the credit crunch and foreign banks downsizing their operations here, said Dr Chua.

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