Singapore's salary and employment outlook across 6 functions

Looking to increase your headcount this year? You're not alone - 36% of companies in Singapore are also planning to increase headcount in 2017. Of these, six in 10 are looking to hire at middle-management level.

According to Michael Page 2017 Asia Salary & Employment Outlook survey, of the nearly 450 employers in Singapore who took part in the survey, 63% of companies who responded expect to offer employees a 1% to 5% salary increase.

The report covers the local salary and employment outlook for 2017 across eleven functions:

Human resources

With markets such as healthcare, technology and e-commerce expected to grow significantly in Singapore, human resources professionals will be sought after by these firms to support their growth.

However, with a sluggish overall economy, many companies are streamlining costs and HR professionals will increasingly be expected to multitask and demonstrate measurable, commercial value.

In Singapore, as organisations realise the value of aligning HR processes and policies with business goals, HR business partnering is also gaining popularity.

In the HR function, candidates in demand are those with expertise in change management and organisational transformation, and performance management and succession planning. At the same time, there is also a move towards specialist talent acquisition roles, rather than recruitment being one of several responsibilities given to generalists.

In general, candidates moving between jobs may expect salary increases of about 8 to 12%.

The three roles that can expect the highest annual salaries are:

• Head of human resources (in both commerce and industry, and banking and finance sectors) with 15+ years of experience: SG$300,000+
• Compensation and benefits specialist (in the banking and finance sectors) with 15+ years of experience: SG$300,000+
• Organisational development professional (in the banking and finance sectors) with 15+ years of experience: SG$300,000+

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