Hiring confidence is back on the rise in Singapore, with 42% of employers planning to expand their permanent headcount in the first half of 2025, according to new data from Jobstreet by SEEK’s Hiring, Compensation and Benefits 2025 report.
This marks a rebound from the previous year, when just 32% of employers expressed confidence in a more active job market for the second half of 2024—highlighting renewed optimism among employers for the year ahead.
Fuelled by economic optimism and a surge in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) hiring, the report highlights a shifting landscape where AI fluency, flexible work, and non-monetary benefits have overtaken traditional recruitment priorities.
Based on a nationwide survey of 887 employers and HR professionals, the findings signal a new era of employment expectations and workplace strategies, where compensation conversations are evolving, but other areas of concern—such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)—are seeing some uneven progress.
“Singapore’s job market is entering a new chapter,” said Vic Sithasanan, Managing Director, Jobstreet by SEEK in Singapore.
“Where salary once reigned supreme, the data shows us that employers and jobseekers are now focused on AI readiness, work-life flexibility, and meaningful career development. These holistic benefits have begun to overtake traditional hiring priorities and are no longer ‘nice-to-haves’—they are becoming decisive factors for hiring and retention.
“For jobseekers, standing out means not only demonstrating adaptability and a commitment to continuous upskilling, but also displaying real-world AI skills and a willingness to embrace qualities that are now essential to thrive in Singapore’s job market.”
While permanent roles remain in demand, more employers are also turning to contract and part-time staff, with SMEs leading this shift to agile workforce models. Meanwhile, over half (54%) of businesses say AI skills are a key consideration during hiring, despite only 15% currently using AI tools to support recruitment.
The report paints a broader picture of how Singapore’s employment landscape is adapting to changing workforce values, digital disruption, and ongoing demographic shifts:
SMEs lead the charge for hiring resurgence and flexibility
Singapore’s hiring outlook for the first half of 2025 is optimistic, with 42% of employers planning to grow their permanent headcount, aligned with the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s GDP growth forecast of 1-3% for the year. While traditional hiring drivers such as business expansion (76%), the need for new roles or skill sets (46%), and staff turnover (41%) remain prevalent, the nature of employment is shifting. More than one in three (31%) of employers say they are increasing their reliance on contract, part-time, and flexible talent in 2025—more than doubling from 15% in 2024.
This trend is primarily driven by SMEs, which are embracing more agile workforce models to adapt. For jobseekers, this presents expanded opportunities to work with more SMEs and grab competitive salaries and benefits that align with their career priorities. Further, SMEs often provide greater exposure to diverse roles and responsibilities, enabling accelerated skills development and career growth.
AI literacy is a must-have, but adoption still lags
AI fluency has become a key qualification today, with 54% of employers now considering it during hiring and candidate assessment, and nearly one in five (19%) viewing it as a primary consideration.
Despite this demand, only 15% of businesses have implemented AI tools to assist with recruitment. The main barriers to adoption include the perception that AI is unnecessary in the recruitment process (51%), concerns about losing the human touch and personalisation (44%), and a lack of knowledge or access to AI applications (40%).
This underscores the value of continued authentic, personalised interactions for jobseekers during the recruitment process, even as digital skills and AI fluency become more embedded in the workplace.
Yet, the disconnect between this expectation and execution reveals a critical opportunity for employers, who can proactively integrate AI and streamline recruitment to gain a competitive edge. Across the industry, new AI-powered recruitment solutions are emerging to bridge these gaps..
Jobseekers who have the right AI skills will be better positioned as future-ready talent in an increasingly digital economy. To stand out effectively, jobseekers can also leverage secure digital credential verification tools which enable them to verify, store, and share their AI-related skills.
By presenting trusted, pre-verified credentials, jobseekers can enhance their visibility in a competitive market and build employer confidence in their capabilities.
The Compensation Conversation Has Shifted
Compensation in Singapore has evolved beyond base salary. While 76% of businesses awarded bonuses and 79% implemented salary increases in 2024, the focus is now squarely on non-monetary perks such as flexible work arrangements, mental health days, and family care, which enhance quality of life and employee wellbeing.
Benefits such as additional paternity (16%), family care (14%), and maternity leave (12%) gained popularity in 2024, reflecting employers’ intent to better support employees’ family lives—in line with Singapore’s enhanced parental leave policies.
With upskilling and reskilling being central to Singapore’s national agenda amid rapid technological advancements across Southeast Asia, companies in Singapore are investing more in long-term employee career development, with plans to expand access to training/self-learning programmes (8%), apprenticeship/mentoring (9%), and job rotation opportunities (9%) in 2025.
These initiatives signify a broader shift beyond take-home pay, and towards creating a more human-centred, sustainable employee experience.
DEI: A Strategic Differentiator in a Diverse Workforce
Although DEI continues to grow in prominence, its implementation remains inconsistent across Singapore’s corporate landscape. Just 2 in 5 companies have adopted formal DEI initiatives, while 25% say they have no plans to adopt any. Among the top barriers to this are the absence of a regulatory push (42%), unclear return on investment (39%), and lack of access to effective strategies or best practices (31%).
However, the business case for DEI is proven; inclusive companies are more likely to retain talent, attract top performers and foster high-performing teams. Importantly, DEI is a decisive factor in the recruitment process for a growing segment of the workforce.
A survey among employees in Singapore found that 62% of Gen Z employers and jobseekers would reject a job offer from a company that was not making efforts to promote DEI—highlighting how younger talent is setting new expectations when it comes to workplace culture and values.
In contrast, Gen X respondents were least likely to let DEI influence their job decisions, underscoring a generational divide in workplace priorities.
This generational shift means that organisations that invest in and demonstrate meaningful DEI practices will be best placed to attract and retain the next generation of jobseekers.
Organisations that lag behind on DEI risk missing out on a significant segment of the talent pool, particularly as Gen Z and Millennials increasingly dominate the workforce. As Singapore’s job landscape continues to grow increasingly diverse, DEI is a critical reputational and performance differentiator for organisations seeking to attract and retain top talent.
Employer Takeaways: Building a Future-Ready Workforce in 2025
To stay competitive in the year ahead, Jobstreet encourages companies to:
- Broaden recruitment strategies to include part-time, contractual or freelance roles that meet the flexibility demands of both businesses and jobseekers.
Offer competitive compensation and meaningful benefits such as flexible work arrangements, mental health days, and family care - Prioritise AI literacy and integrating AI tools in both the workplace and recruitment workflows. This can include prioritising AI upskilling through initiatives like Singapore’s National AI Strategy 2.0 and Learn AI (Singapore), integrating AI-driven solutions like SmartHire to gain a competitive edge in recruitment, or leveraging industry insights from Jobstreet’s Decoding Global Talent: GenAI Edition report.
