Hiring gaps widen as Singapore firms redesign roles and screening

Skill-based hiring and AI tools clash with broad job searches by candidates.

Hiring in Singapore is becoming more misaligned as employers redesign roles around skill clusters, tighten screening criteria and rely more on artificial intelligence (AI) tools, whilst job seekers continue to conduct broad searches and struggle to match changing requirements, analysts said.

“This includes redesigning roles around skill clusters rather than rigid job descriptions,” Samantha Tan, human resource business partner at Jobstreet by SEEK Ltd., told Singapore Business Review.

She said information technology job applications have risen by triple digits, whilst science and technology roles have posted a 29% increase.

Tan said employers are moving away from looking for a perfect candidate match and focusing more on transferable experience and adjacent skills. Hiring teams are applying sharper filters to identify suitable applicants even as vacancy levels remain steady.

Sean Tan, career business leader at Mercer (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., a unit of Marsh LLC, said employers are prioritising skills linked to adaptability, collaboration and learning as job scope shifts across industries. He said expectations around role flexibility and growth have become central to hiring decisions.

Vacancy data suggests the gap is not caused by a lack of roles. Jobstreet data shows employers continued to post openings even as candidates searched without specifying roles or functions.

Vacancies rose to 77,700 in December from 69,600 in September, according to the Ministry of Manpower’s labour market report, yet many searches remained nonspecific.

“The volume of blank searches suggests there isn’t an absence of jobs, but a gap between what job seekers think is available and the skills they have,” Jobstreet’s Tan said via Zoom.

She added that unclear job titles and descriptions often deter candidates from applying, even when roles are open.

Salary continues to matter, but it is no longer the dominant factor shaping career moves, she said. Job seekers are increasingly weighing pay against job security, flexibility, mental health, and progression.

Mercer data shows 53% of employees would consider leaving for higher pay, whilst 43% cite reduced flexibility as a reason to leave. About 63% said they would give up a 10% pay increase for opportunities to build digital and AI-related capabilities, Mercer's Tan said in an emailed reply to questions.

Prestige is carrying less weight. Candidates are prioritising role fit over brand names as they assess long-term work sustainability, said Yvonne Teo, vice president of human resources for the Asia-Pacific at Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP). 

“Candidates are prioritising culture, flexibility, and purpose over company size and prestige,” she said in an emailed reply to questions. She added that these expectations are no longer differentiators but baseline requirements.

Teo said healthcare benefits are also gaining importance as job seekers take a broader view of employment value. Credibility has become critical, with applicants increasingly testing whether employer promises align with employee experience.

Mercer’s Tan said hesitation often reflects uncertainty over role scope, compensation, and flexibility even when vacancies exist.

Teo said outcome-focused job descriptions and clearer definitions of essential functions could widen talent pools and reduce mismatches.

Recruitment processes are also becoming more data-led. Employers are using AI to support shortlisting, workforce forecasting, and retention modelling, she added.

This is about precision in hiring rather than scale, she said, adding that analytics could help identify candidates more likely to perform and stay.