Some discussions regarding Singapore employment scene from local community forums

Is it hard for a Malaysian to get a job in Singapore?

Yahoo Singapore retrenching?

Companies retrenching staff

Advice on moving to Singapore and jobhunting

Employment forecast and Retrenchment

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower released their 3rd Qtr 2008 Labour Market Report this month. Below graphs and charts represents some of the data taken from the report.

Number of retrench workers in Singapore per quarter from 1st qtr 2007 to 3rd qtr 2008

While data for 4th qtr 2008 will only be available on March 2009 at the latest, 3rd qtr retrenched number already indicates a significant rise from the same period last year. It is expected that a spike in the actual number of retrenched workers will be reported for the 4th qtr as some companies have started huge retrenchments starting November 2008, especially in financial institutions and manufacturing.

Distribution of retrenchment per industry

Employment forecast up to end of 2008

With Singapore heavily dependent in export manufacturing and service industries (hotels, resorts, restaurants), the global recession triggered slower product demands from destination countries such as US and Europe and cooling interest in tourist travels.

December 2008 news that matters: delivering the facts

Below are the relevant news story in December from two of the Singapore newspapers.

TST Singapore may be worst hit

TST Singaporeans should come last

TST Singapore forecast cut to 2.2%

TST Q3 jobless rate at 2.2%

TODAY Dark clouds ahead, say analysts

CNA MOE steps up recruitment drive with 7,500 new jobs

Recommended internet jobsites in SG

Merry Christmas everyone! We all know that 2009 is a year of recession for the world economy and will not be a good year for jobseekers in SG. However, this does not stop some adventurous and determined Pinoys from searching for the green grass abroad. To save you the hassle, I will be coming up with a recommended list of jobsites and job search engines in SG. Watch out for it!

Update (Dec. 27, 2008):
As promised, below are the top job sites in Singapore
1. Jobstreet

2. JobsDB

3. Jobscentral

4. ST701

5. Monster

6. ClassifiedPost

I am also listing below some of the established job search engines
1. Job-searchonline

2. Careerjet

3. BestJobs

4. Streetdirectory

Updated: January 6, 2009

5. Recruit.Net

If you want a faster job search for a specific position, it is preferred that you use one of the above-listed search engines. You don't need to open each job sites as any of these search engines can consolidate all relevant openings of the position of your choice from the most well-known job sites.

General Portals for Pinoy communities and Direction Finders

Listed below are the 3 major portals for Pinoy communities in Singapore. I am listing them down in order of membership size.

1. PinoySG
This site can boast of its large membership. It has a very active classified ads section and community forums. You won't appreciate PinoySG if you don't take part in its lively forums. You will also get some first-hand advise and tips regarding jobhunting and other relevant topics.
2. Filipinos@sg
What I appreciate about this portal is the Journey Planner where you can enter your destinations to and fro and get the cheapest, nearest route.
3. PinoymatterSG
This site offers news feeds and videos relevant to Pinoys.

Speaking of Journey Planner, there are other direction finder sites serving Singapore location. Below are some of the well-known sites.

1. gothere

2. mylifestylemap

3. streetdirectory

Nothing beats the Journey Planner, though, but GoThere looks cool and 'clean'. If you are interested in seeking also for nearby restaurants, landmarks and jobs while looking for a direction of a certain address, streetdirectory offers them all.

2008 survey data and analysis

On Sept. 28, 2008, we ran two surveys and notified PinoySG followers of the survey. PinoySG is a portal for Pinoy community in Singapore. The survey was open for one month. We posted the results in pinoySG site and another free site, unfortunately, the latter has poor viewership. Anyway, I decided to post a blog this time to give jobseekers an insight on the data. Below are the  results:

JOBHUNTERS - 25 participants
http://app.sgizmo.com/reports/24209/62260/JJVCBXF9MDCV9V1GPEDQ67MWGLRHL1/

As shown by the graphs, most of those who have looked for jobs in 3 or more months come from Customer Service (Call Center) and Manufacturing sectors. So if you are coming from these two industries, better to apply first while in home country and wait for employment offer before going to Singapore.

Update:
Straits Times: Dec. 27, 2008 story

HIRED - 10 participants
http://app.sgizmo.com/reports/24209/63478/029M3IOYDN0HI0Q62363807XBHI22N/

Successful participants are usually from the Computers or IT sector (hardware and software). Second in the list is coming from Customer Service (Call Center). This data does not match with the outcome on the survey for jobhunters where most of those that did not land job early are coming from Call Center as well. My observation is that the market is already saturated with hundreds of applicants coming from India and other Asian countries, excluding the hundreds from Philippines.

Take note that successful jobhunters rated 'years of experience' as the number one factor for being hired, followed by well-prepared resume. So don't start packing yet if you are a fresh graduate unless you have other ace in your pocket.