Randstad Singapore’s 2023 job market and salary outlook report includes key labour trends and employer insights on salaries, bonuses, hiring trends and talent expectations. Download the full report for more information to guide your talent attraction and workforce planning strategy for 2023.
Singapore has not been spared from a wave of tech layoffs, with companies like Shopee and Meta making headlines for headcount reductions. With local sovereign wealth fund GIC warning of a global recession amidst rising inflation, we can expect a growth slowdown in the tech industry in Singapore.
Despite this seemingly bleak outlook, we believe Singapore is well-positioned to weather the storm, given its strong footprint within ASEAN. Amidst global turbulence, the city-state has proven its ability to deal with uncertainty over the last few years and retains its position as the dominant tech player in the region.
With its advanced IT infrastructure and robust ecosystem, we anticipate that Singapore will continue to attract tech investors and global talent. The investment scene continues to be dynamic, not just in the tech industry but across sectors like manufacturing, shipping, and infrastructure.
2023 tech talent trends
While demand for tech talent in SIngapore will keep growing in the year ahead, we foresee that the industry will adopt a more cautious outlook on hiring as companies exercise more prudence in their expansion plans.
Earlier in 2022, we saw many tech companies growing and hiring fast without paying enough attention to profitability.
This caution will be balanced by stronger demand in other sectors. While some companies may experience a slowdown, others that have raised investments or have a strong market share will continue to create a healthy appetite for in-demand tech talent. Companies in fast-growing sectors like banking and financial services, biotech and fintech will also be hiring actively to fill technology jobs.
the most in-demand tech roles in 2023
As digital technologies and transformation continue to reshape industries, there will still be a heavy demand for developers like software engineers, full stack developers and mobile app developers in 2023. Technological roles like product managers, UI developers, cybersecurity experts and cloud architects will also continue to be highly sought-after.
The increasing drive for sustainability will bring new needs for sustainable tech expertise across many sectors. This includes sustainability analytics, predictive modelling and green management solutions. As job development and new job roles in sustainable tech are being created, tech talent will need to be retrained to support the organisations’ sustainable agendas.
With the advent of Web3, a new generation of in-demand roles and skill sets is set to emerge as well. This includes blockchain engineers, metaverse developers, and other roles that have yet to be created.
the great realignment on salary
Fuelled by a current tech talent crunch and skills gap in emerging technologies, strong competition for talent has sent tech salaries skyrocketing in Singapore. But as companies take a new conservative stance on hiring, wage increases will become more moderate, necessitating a realignment of employee expectations between tech employers and candidates.
In the last couple of years where we observed aggressive hiring strategies, candidates received as much as 40% salary increments when they changed jobs. With the coming slowdown, we anticipate that the salary range will return to some level of normality, with the rate of salary growth averaging around 15% to 30%.
Many candidates are starting to consider other factors than salary when considering their next career move. Employers who may have previously depended on dollars as the main draw will therefore need to review their total remuneration package, or face struggles to pay the high salaries that employees have come to expect.
To stay attractive to talent in a tight labour market, employers will need to provide more intrinsic pull factors. In our experience, new work challenges are a key draw for tech talent, and employers who can provide opportunities for upskilling and learning will be more appealing to talent.
download the randstad singapore’s 2023 talent and salary outlook report
The 2023 Talent and Salary Outlook report looks at talent analysis and new salary benchmarks in the following industries:
- Technology
- Banking and financial services
- Transportation and infrastructure
- Fast moving consumer goods
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