By Shefali Rekhi

Upbeat is the word. The outlook on the job and compensation front for Singapore next year looks promising.

More jobs will be available and pay packages will improve marginally, several human resource consultancies report, offering a ray of hope even as they add a few words of caution.

Much of the optimism stems from an improved forecast for the Singapore economy, though bud- get constraints and conservative projections for global economic growth suggest that the recovery, while firm, is still in its early stages.

The official forecast is that the Republic will grow by 3 per cent to 5 per cent next year. Private-sector economists are more upbeat. They expect growth to hit 5.5 per cent next year, after contracting by 2 per cent this year, according to the median expectations of 20 economists released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore last week.

Improved prospects in regional markets, among them China, India, Malaysia and Thailand, add to confidence levels in Singapore, regional human resource observers say.

Mr Mike Game, CEO - Asia for global recruitment firm Hudson, which counts many Fortune 1000 companies among its clients, told The Sunday Times that employers in Asia are becoming optimistic about business expectations for next year and beyond.

On the job and compensation front, 'Singapore and Asia are receiving even more focus than pre-recession as multinational companies perceive limited growth opportunities in the developed markets of Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States.

'Specifically in the first quarter, we see hiring sentiment increasing sharply post-Chinese New Year although some employers are starting hiring assignments now, knowing talent will be harder to find as 2010 progresses,' he said.

The process builds on a trend that became noticeable in the second half of this year.

The Singapore office of Manpower Inc, a global human resource consultancy, said the net employment outlook for the first quarter of next year is 26 per cent, nine percentage points higher than this year's fourth-quarter outlook.

The net employment outlook measures the difference between expectations of recruitment and reduction of jobs. The positive outlook for hirings in the next three months will mark the third quarter of positive hirings.

Surveys show that many opportunities will exist in the banking and finance sector.

Ambition, a recruitment firm specialising in accounting, banking and financial sectors, said in a statement last week that its survey of 940 executives in Singapore and Hong Kong showed that nearly 67 per cent were upbeat about business prospects in the first quarter of next year. Nearly 48 per cent said they had been actively hiring in the last quarter of the year, while another 23.5 per cent said they would hire by the middle of next year.

However, among those polled, 44 per cent showed a preference for contract or temporary staff, pointing out that maintaining headcount was still a priority consideration.

'The Republic is benefiting from the continuing trend in the finance industry to locate back-office and middle-office operations to the city state to take advantage of the educated English-speaking talent pool and excellent infrastructure,' said Hudson's Mr Game.

Prospects are looking promising for real estate, health care and pharmaceuticals. The information technology sector has also been aggressively looking for experienced developers and business development professionals.

Manpower Inc reports better employment prospects for those in public administration and education as well, but it sees hiring sentiments in transport, utilities and wholesale and retail sectors as still somewhat conservative. Projections on the compensation front are also conservative.

According to human resource consulting firm Hewitt Associates, this year's pay hikes in Singapore - at 1.8 per cent - were the slowest since 2000.

Hewitt's Mr Samir Bedi told The Sunday Times that employers in Singapore are set to raise salaries by a respectable 2.6 per cent next year. His findings are based on a survey of 153 companies polled in July and August this year.

'Our projections indicate that it will take time to rebound to the highs of a 5.3 per cent salary increase witnessed in Singapore in 2008,' he said.

The good news is that the pay hike freeze is being lifted, with the survey showing that the incidence of salary freeze will be down to 12.8 per cent of organisations next year, compared to a high of 60.3 per cent this year.

According to Mr Game, attention is increasingly focused on critical staff, and the issue of retention is coming back into focus.

'Employees in many organisations are feeling bruised by the downturn and the reaction of their employers to compensation, benefits and job role. These employees are vulnerable to turnover even as the hiring activity continues to improve,' he noted.

Meanwhile, some employers are concerned that they will not be able to find people to fill job vacancies.

Several respondents polled by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry have called for an easing of restrictions on employing foreign workers.

Next >>