Employers fear talent crunch this year: Survey

A survey of 1,500 employers and workers here has found that most employers expect a talent crunch this year, even as employees said they expect pay rises - 10 percentage points higher than average expectations last year - when switching jobs

Among employers' top concerns are a lack of candidates with necessary work experience, skills and knowledge (58 per cent), increased competition from other employers (38 per cent) and a lack of candidates who will fit their corporate culture (36 per cent).

One possible reason behind employers' concern could be smaller hiring budgets, with 44 per cent of them citing this as their biggest challenge this year.

These were among the findings in a recent report by recruitment firm RGF International Recruitment on hiring trends and the impact of Covid-19 on businesses, following two surveys done from last December to March this year, and in April to May.

In light of this, the report noted: "With the onset of Covid-19, some employers may find the talent market brimming with potential candidates, especially if key competitors have had to make significant cuts. If this is the case, employers would be wise to jump on these key talent quickly and find (the) budget to hire those with specific, niche skills that can help them endure the pandemic and thrive beyond it."

From the employees' perspective, 64 per cent of professionals say a salary increment would be their top reason to change employers. Besides base salary, 76 per cent of employees consider performance-based bonuses to be a key compensation factor.

The opportunity for career advancement (43 per cent) and salary considerations (42 per cent) remain top priorities for Singaporeans who are considering new employment.

Singaporean professionals on average expected their pay to rise this year by 27 per cent when switching jobs.

RGF International Recruitment managing director James Miles said that while hiring for most roles has slowed during the pandemic, the need for niche specialist roles such as data scientists, cyber security experts and software developers has continued to increase.

The report covered 11 Asian markets that included Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, India, China, Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan.