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SINGAPORE (THE BUSINESS TIMES) – Employment expectations among Singaporean companies have worsened in the last quarter of this year, while overall business sentiment remains pessimistic.
On Tuesday (September 8), the latest quarterly survey from the Singapore Trade Credit Bureau (SCCB) of 200 business owners and senior executives showed that the employment expectations indicator decreased to -13.19 percentage points in the quarter. quarter, from -3.29 percentage points in the previous quarter. trimester. That sentiment level is also the most negative for 2020.
This is in contrast to the previous quarter, when job confidence improved from -4.98 percentage points in the second quarter to -3.29 percentage points in the third quarter.
The weakening in employment sentiment is largely due to “a tepid outlook on global economic activities that has impacted companies in outward-facing sectors,” said SCCB CEO Audrey Chia.
Singapore companies are also choosing to hire digitally savvy talent and invest in technology in a bid to digitize and keep labor costs low during this time, he added.
The survey showed that employment sentiment has worsened in the financial, manufacturing, transportation and service sectors in particular.
In the financial sector, for example, the employment indicator turned negative quarter over quarter, from +33.33 percentage points in the third quarter to -33.33 percentage points in the fourth quarter.
Similarly, in the manufacturing sector, the indicator fell to -29.41 percentage points in the fourth quarter, from zero in the previous quarter. That’s even when the manufacturing and financial sectors are among those anticipating a slightly better outlook compared to the prior quarter, according to SCCB.
On the other hand, companies in the agricultural and mining sectors do not expect changes in their employment levels.
Only the wholesale sector is positive on employment: the indicator rose to +17.65 percentage points in the fourth quarter, from zero in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, overall business sentiment for the fourth quarter remains contractionary. The indicator is at -4.97 percentage points in the fourth quarter, compared to -5.16 percentage points in the previous quarter. But in year-on-year terms, the indicator has dropped from +4.82 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2019 to -4.97 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Said Ms Chia: “With increasing global geopolitical tensions, a prolonged reopening of international borders, and a delay in resuming activities at the local level for certain sectors such as construction, there are still no clear prospects for recovery to the view in the short term. “
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