Agencies predict increased demand for contract work in 2010

Employment agencies are expecting hiring plans to improve in 2010. But industry experts say contract work will continue its upward trend.

This is on top of various permanent positions being made available as companies attempt to boost their workforce.

Kelly Services has been receiving more calls from employers who want to engage contract workers. The recruitment agency says it has seen a 15 to 20 percent increase in demand in recent months.

It expects the figure to stay healthy in the first quarter of next year.

Dhirendra Shantilal, senior vice-president at Kelly Services, says: "This whole global crisis has also helped companies to realise that they need to have a balance between their permanent workforce and a contract workforce. As a result of that, we're seeing a lot more companies coming to us for more contract work."

Demand for contract employment exists in all industries, especially in the financial, retail and hospitality sectors.

HR consultants say companies are still cautious and are relying on contract work due to the uncertainties in the economic recovery.

For job seekers, that means having to be flexible about accepting work on contract terms.


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Linking growth with entrepreneurship

A shrinking economy may spur more people to start a business out of necessity, but expectations of a better economic climate for Singapore do not necessarily point to less entrepreneurship, according to experts on the subject.

This is because the dynamics contributing to a country's entrepreneurship level are complex, and so the school of thought that entrepreneurial activity increases when the economy is not doing well may not hold.

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42,000 unemployed find jobs through Spur

THE report card for the Singapore Workforce Development Agency's (WDA) Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) is out.

The programme has trained more people than it aimed to, found jobs for many trainees who were unemployed, and saved countless others from being retrenched.

Started in November last year, the programme has enrolled 264,000 workers in its various training courses, exceeding the target of 220,000.

The programme also helped about 42,000 of them - unemployed citizens and permanent residents - find jobs, mainly in the food-and-beverage, cleaning, wholesale and retail-trade, manufacturing, and security sectors.

About seven in 10 were rank-and-file workers with up to secondary education. Six in 10 were aged 40 and above.

In addition, more than 2,770 others were given traineeships in more than 390 firms, under a government-funded Professional Skills Programme Traineeship scheme launched in May this year.

The jobless workers had been among 88,000 workers who had approached the WDA of their own accord. Others were employed but looking to acquire new skills for a career switch.

The rest - 169,000 workers who made up two thirds of the whole pool - were sent by 4,000 companies, which tapped Spur to cut costs, save jobs, and help displaced workers gain new skills and jobs.

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China firms try to lure talent home

THE battle for talent has come to Singapore, with 18 China companies teaming up to hold a first-ever job fair here to lure China-born professionals to return home to work.

Among them were heavy-hitters such as the Bank of Shanghai and the Shanghai Stock Exchange, offering 117 high-level positions that pay up to $250,000 a year plus perks, including housing allowance.

The jobs offered by the companies from Shanghai were in fields such as risk assessment and wealth management. Many required at least a master's degree.

About 1,000 people were at Suntec City recently for the fair, which was the third stop by the companies in their global search for talent.

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2.6% pay increase likely

EVIDENCE is growing that Singapore workers can look forward to modestly fatter salaries next year and that the job situation here is improving.

A survey out last Friday from global human resources firm Hewitt Associates showed that employers in Singapore are poised to raise pay by 2.6 per cent next year.

In addition, most companies polled do not expect to freeze salaries next year - down from a high of 60.3 per cent this year, to just 12.8 per cent expected next year.

Mr Samir Bedi, Hewitt's South-east Asia performance practice leader, said: 'The compensation sentiment is more positive with organisations ready to take on 2010 with a fresh, energised outlook to manage talent.'

Hewitt's Singapore Salary Increase Survey polled 153 firms in July and August this year. Its findings came a day after human resource firm ECA International released a survey which showed employees here can expect a 3 per cent pay rise next year.

ECA also found 11 per cent of 99 firms polled here are proposing salary freezes next year, down from this year's 39 per cent.

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Developing countries in Asia see highest salary increases

Employees in Singapore can expect salary increases of 3% in 2010, up from this year’s 2% average, according to ECA International’s latest Salary Trends Survey. In Asia, salary increase forecasts remain highest in the growth areas of China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Salary increases within the region are predicted to average at 5% in 2010, almost twice as high as this year’s actual 2.8% average, and significantly higher than the average 2010 forecasts for Western Europe (2.6%) and North America (2.8%).

Results from the survey indicate that like their Singapore counterparts, employees in Hong Kong and Taiwan can also expect salary increases of 3% in 2010, compared with this year’s actual 1% and 0.5% increases respectively. Chinese employees are likely to see their salary increases rise from 3% to 6% at the next pay review.

The largest salary increases within the region are forecast for Vietnam (10%), India (9.3%) and Indonesia (8.5%), continuing a trend that persisted even during the economic turbulence of the last 12 months.

Employees in Japan are predicted to receive 2% salary increases – the lowest in the region. Whilst employees in Australia and New Zealand can expect to see an increase on the 2% awarded this year with companies there forecasting 3.5% and 3% rises respectively for 2010.

According to Lee Quane, ECA International’s regional director for Asia, while these numbers have not reached the levels of the boom years, the figures indicate that companies operating within the region are much more confident about economic conditions than a year ago.

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Gradual economic pickup expected for Singapore

The Singapore economy is likely to settle at a more gradual pace of expansion, with GDP growth in 2010 expected to be lower than in previous post-recession periods.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in its Macroeconomics Review released on Thursday that compared to six months ago, the outlook for the second half of 2009 and for 2010 is "markedly more optimistic".

However, the MAS also sounded a word of caution in its report which is published twice a year.

"As we approach 2010, GDP growth will likely shift to a more sustainable trajectory, underpinned by a modest turnaround in final demand in Singapore's key external markets," it said.

It said concerns remain about the resilience of global demand, given the lingering weakness in the financial sectors and labour markets of developed economies.

Among Singapore's major trading partners, those that are expected to grow below their long-term trends next year account for nearly half of the island's total exports. The MAS said this points to domestic growth that is likely to be lower compared to previous post-recession periods.

It added that while Singapore's recovery from the downturn may become more broad-based, job creation could, nonetheless, be modest in 2010 as the relatively small job losses resulting from this downturn means that firms may be carrying surplus labour.

External factors will also continue to influence the cost of living in Singapore, with the MAS expecting inflation to come in at around 0 per cent in 2009, before rising to 1-2 per cent in 2010.

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Fresh grads have it tough

FRESH university graduates will face a tougher search for jobs and lower starting pay this year due to a hiring freeze and retrenchments brought about by the economic downturn.

Although some students have been getting job offers as early as seven months before graduation, the overall mood is downbeat.

While all three local universities - the National University of Singapore (NUS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) - have yet to compile official employment statistics for the class of 2009, they are already preparing their students for the grim prospects.

'These are indeed challenging times, with fewer job opportunities for fresh graduates than in previous years,' said Mrs Ruth Chiang, director of career services at SMU. 'We have advised our graduates to be more realistic in their expectations and cast their nets wider.'

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Handle employees under 35 with care

A boss who doesn't treat employees under 35 the way the organisation had initially promised them during job interviews will cause high staff turnover among that age group.

Dr. David S. Cohen, founder of human resources development firm Strategic Action Group, says these are "bad" managers who would give candidates "false hope" during the interview process by mismanaging their expectations. Things will get ugly when Gen Y candidates take on the job and they realise their expectations are not met. "People are going to be upset, disappointed and angry," he says. "If you are under 35, you'll definitely leave because you have confidence, you know you are going to be employed even in this economy downturn."

Hence, Gen Y employees do not quit because they don't like the company or they want more money, says Cohen. Gen Y employees will most likely jump ship to another job which pays less if they dislike their current managers. "They leave managers who didn't treat them the way they expect to be treated." He adds, "If you are unhappy at the company you are at, you will take a job for 10% less at somewhere else to be happy."

For Gen Y, money is simply not an issue, says Cohen, as long as they feel they are paid fairly. Then again, this principle applies to most of the generations in the workplace. "The reality is most people would not move their jobs even for 10% more if they are being treated right because it's better to be at the company you like and enjoy working at."

This is much preferable than taking a risk to join a new company which one is unfamiliar with and might not enjoy working at. Nevertheless, Cohen says employee retention is also dependent on the individual's career goals. "If the value proposition for the employee is development and development is taken out of the budget, they are going to go to another company for less money but which is offering development."

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2 in 5 companies foresaw need to cut wages in 2009

According to findings published by the Ministry of Manpower, two in five private establishments foresaw the need to cut wages in 2009 if conditions worsen. This was during the period in December 2008 when Singapore's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the quarter contracted over the year by 4.2%.

Meanwhile, companies with a Monthly Variable Component (MVC) in their wage structure were more confident of gaining their employees' acceptance of a wage cut, if it has to be implemented compared with establishments without MVC.

These were published in the 320-page 'Report on Wages in Singapore, 2008' published by the Ministry of Manpower's Research and Statistics Department.

Other key findings of the report include the following:

• Only a small minority (1.7%) of private establishments with MVC in their wage structure cut the component in 2008, as economic conditions deteriorated sharply only from the last quarter of 2008 when GDP contracted over the year by 4.2%.
• The top two common measures of wage cut are cutting the annual variable component (74% of establishments) and basic wage (47%), followed by MVC (15%) as the latter was weighed down by establishments without MVC.
• As of December 2008, 84% of the workforce in the private sector was under some form of flexible wage system, same as a year ago. Large establishments (employing 200 or more employees) continued to lead in the implementation, with the vast majority (90%) of their workforce having at least one key wage recommendation in their wage system, compared with 75% in small and medium enterprises.
• With the economic downturn and increased business costs in 2008, employers were more restrained in granting salary increases.
• Occupations requiring higher skills and knowledge continued to command higher wages. In June 2008, the median monthly gross wages was the highest for managers ($6,400), followed by professionals ($4,405) and associate professionals & technicians ($3,000). Clerical ($1,960) and sales & service workers ($1,849) were paid close to $2,000. Among blue-collar occupations, the production craftsmen ($2,137) and plant & machine operators ($2,009) were paid much more than the group of cleaners, labourers & related workers ($975).
• Wages are generally observed to rise with age as workers gain experience and skills and become more productive over the years. The pace of wage increase with age is more pronounced among managers and professionals as their work is generally more knowledge intensive.

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Companies in Asia ramping up workforce amid economic downturn

Companies in Asia are ramping up their workforce planning activities in response to the current economic downturn, according to a survey by global consulting firm Watson Wyatt.

The survey, released Wednesday, showed that more than seven out of every 10 companies in the region believe that workforce planning has become more important amid the current economic slowdown.

In fact, more than half have already begun to increase such activities within their organisations.

Workforce planning is the process by which an organisation aligns its workforce requirements to the business strategy using business analytics.

Although such planning is growing in importance, 60 per cent of those surveyed do not have a structured approach to workforce planning.

Instead, their attention is focused on immediate concerns like filling job vacancies, rather than longer term strategic issues relating to their workforce.

Asia Pacific Director of Watson Wyatt's Human Capital Group Russell Huntington said companies need to focus on longer term plans and review the capabilities needed in light of the current adverse business conditions.

He added that reducing employee costs cannot just be a numbers game, but should be a well thought-through, data-driven strategic exercise.


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12,760 jobs lost in Q1

TOTAL of 12,760 jobs were lost in the first quarter, government data showed on Monday, pushing Singapore's overall unemployment rate to a three-year high of 3.3 per cent.

The total employment fell by 6,200, the first quarterly contraction in nearly six years as the number of workers hired was lower than the number of workers who left their jobs. This was in line with the slowing economy, said the Ministry of Manpower in a statement on Monday.

Some 10,900 workers were retrenched, while another 1,860 had their contracts terminated prematurely, 36 per cent more than the 9,410 laid off in the last quarter of 2008.

Most of the cuts came from the manufacturing industry, which accounted for 72 per cent of the workers laid off, up from 55 per cent in December.

Cuts in the services and construction industry, however, were lower than the fourth quarter of 2008, falling from 40 per cent and 4.1 per cent to 25 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively.

A total of 95,700 residents were unemployed in March, said MOM.

The number of people re-employed also fell, with only 51 per cent of those retrenched in Q4 2008 re-employed by March 2009, compared to 70 per cent in Dec 2008 and 67 per cent in March 2008.

Job vacancies fell for the third consecutive quarter to 21,000, down 20 per cent from December 2008 and 45 per cent from a year ago.

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Singapore civil servants ranked most efficient in Asia: survey

A business survey on 12 Asian cities found that civil servants in Singapore are the most efficient.

The survey, conducted by Hong Kong-based Political & Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC), also found that Singaporean bureaucrats are unhelpful when things go wrong.

It is the third time Singapore took top spot in the survey, last conducted in 2007.

Hong Kong came in second, followed by Thailand, and India was last.

Over 1,200 expatriates working in these 12 Asian cities took part in the survey. - CNA /ls

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Executive recruitment hit hard by recession | Jorbb.com

Executive searches worldwide have fallen 35% in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to a report by Association of Executive Search Consultants (AESC).

The Q1 State of the Executive Search Industry Report polled over 1,500 executive search consultants in 46 countries and found that executive searches in the financial services industry suffered the hardest blow, with a 41% yearly drop in the first quarter of 2009.The industrial sector fell 27% year-on-year, while the healthcare sector showed the least decline with a 21% drop compared to the first quarter of 2008.

Peter Felix, president of AESC, feels the findings show that no region, industry or function has been unaffected. "Top management have been caught in the headlights of overwhelming uncertainty and have acted more to protect assets and reduce costs than to plan for the future. It is thus no surprise that the worldwide executive search profession has been affected.”

The fall in executive recruitment streams from financial trends emerging as a result of the economic downturn. Average net revenues fell by 38% in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the same period the previous year. The average fee per executive search assignment also declined 12% from Q4 2008 to Q1 2009.

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MCYS committed to supporting Singaporeans through trying times | Jorbb.com

Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Vivian Balakrishnan has committed his ministry to supporting Singaporeans through these trying times.

In an addendum to the President's Address delivered at the opening of Parliament on Monday, Dr Balakrishnan said the ministry will exercise greater flexibility to help those at the margins.

At-risk families will be identified early, so that they will be brought under intensive case management.

And even as public donations decline in a tough economic climate, the caseloads of voluntary welfare organisations rise. The ministry has increased funding and provided a contingency fund to support these groups, as well as encouraged training for professionals in this sector.

In times of adversity, the ministry is also watching out against fault lines of nationality, ethnicity and religion.

That is why a National Integration Council has been set up to promote mutual trust across communities, especially amongst new citizens.

Dr Balakrishnan is also counting on sports to rally the nation, and looks ahead to next year's Youth Olympic Games (YOG) 2010.

The Singapore Youth Sports Development Committee will provide more opportunities for youths to play and compete in sports, and the ministry will leverage on the excitement from YOG to promote youth volunteerism.

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MOM focuses attention on developing globally competitive workforce | Jorbb.com

Singapore said measures like the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) are efforts not just for the downturn but to also ensure the Republic remains competitive in the long-run.

The Manpower Ministry highlighted its plans in conjunction with the President's address to Parliament.

Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said a key priority in the next two years is addressing the downturn.

Up to April this year, 94,000 workers and 1,400 companies have committed to training programmes under SPUR.

Me Gan said: "SPUR will encourage companies to save jobs but it is not intended to stop companies totally from retrenchment. Some restructuring is necessary for companies to better position themselves so that they are able to cope with the downturn and emerge from the recession stronger and more competitive."

While SPUR is for a two year period, the Manpower Ministry hopes that Singaporeans will continue to cultivate the attitude of lifelong learning and develop a learning culture even after the economy recovers and the recession is over.

To achieve this, the ministry said it will continue to strengthen the system of Continuing Education and Training (CET). This will be done by expanding the CET infrastructure and recognising the qualifications by employers and workers.

There are now more than 40 CET centres in Singapore. Mr Gan also urged all to be prepared for a second wave of retrenchments, one reason for the release of new tripartite guidelines to manage excess manpower in companies.

He said: "Once we are prepared, whether it comes in the second, third or fourth quarter, it doesn't really matter because we are already prepared. The companies are ready, tighten, strengthen, our workers are already ready. That is the most important task ahead of us."

Moving ahead, the ministry said low wage workers will continue to be helped through Workfare, to ensure they too benefit from the country's progress. - CNA/vm

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Survey shows S'poreans would take 42% pay cut | Jorbb.com

If they lost their jobs, Singaporeans on average think they would be able to cope without their main source of income for eight and a half months.

In survey findings that the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) hopes will guide the future calibration of social support for retrenched individuals, it was noted that younger people and the lower-income would be less resilient. For instance, there were more in their 20s and 30s, than in the older age groups, who would be able to cope for only up to six months.

Eight in 10 respondents would rely mainly on their personal savings.

But while just 31 per cent would step out of their comfort zone to take on any job, tellingly, respondents were on average willing to take a hefty 42-per-cent pay-cut in their next job, should they lose their current one (though the pain threshold for lower-income respondents was far lower at 34 per cent).

Very few people (5 to 7 per cent) would turn to the Government or welfare agencies for help; more (28 per cent) prefer the support of friends and family.

These findings, gathered from 817 Singaporeans and Permanent residents in mid-February, showed that Singapore residents were on the whole a fairly resilient lot, said IPS senior research fellow Gillian Koh. The study is the first of a series to study the perceptions of policies in Singapore.

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New Measures to Develop Manpower Capabilities in this Economic Downturn | Jorbb.com

The Ministry of Manpower is introducing new measures under SPUR (Skiils Programme for Upgrading and Resilience) to further develop Singapore's manpower capabilities and provide greater support for companies and workers, especially Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs), affected by the downturn. They are:

a) Increase in Absentee Payroll to better support training for PMETs - Annex A;

b) SPUR-JOBS to encourage recruitment and retention of trainees of SPUR and other WDA CET programmes - Annex B; and

c) Professional Skills Programme Traineeships (PSPT) scheme for companies to build new capabilities in growth sectors - Annex C.

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Budget's focus on jobs paying off | Jorbb.com

THE decision to focus this year's Budget on saving jobs was the right move as its key planks have helped temper job losses and cut the cost burden on employers.

And while the Government's emphasis going ahead will remain focused on saving jobs, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday said workers and union leaders must continue to play their part.

Speaking at the annual May Day Rally, he outlined how the Government had and would continue to help on the jobs front.

One approach has been through the Jobs Credit scheme which subsidises a company's wage bill for local workers; and the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience which pays part of workers' wages while they are on training.

A second has been to go on the offensive and create new jobs and capabilities.
The Integrated Resorts, for example, are already recruiting workers.

Also, the Economic Development Board (EDB) has brought in new projects and got existing companies to expand.

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4 in 10 laid off last year were foreigners | Jorbb.com

FOUR out of 10 workers laid off last year were foreigners, according to the latest figures from the Manpower Ministry (MOM).

The proportion is a 10-year high, and analysts say it shows that, contrary to popular belief, Singaporeans have not unfairly borne the brunt of layoffs in the current recession.

‘A lot of foreigners are employed in lower-skilled service industries, which slowed down in the later part of last year, so they have been affected,’ said Nanyang Technological University economist Choy Keen Meng.

A total of 16,880 workers lost their jobs last year, double the figure for 2007.
Of these, 13,910 were retrenched and 2,970 had their contracts terminated prematurely.
The bulk of those in the latter group - 2,380 - were foreigners.

Of the 13,910 retrenched, 9,770 were locals - Singaporeans and permanent residents - and 4,140 foreigners.

As the MOM pointed out, the proportion of foreigners laid off last year broadly reflects their presence in the workforce.

Foreigners made up 36 per cent of Singapore’s workforce last December.

In actual numbers, they formed 1.2 million of Singapore’s population in June, driving it to a record 4.84 million.

For complete story, visit Asia One

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Recession Will Last At Least 24 Months, Says Economist

(HONG KONG) Nouriel Roubini, the New York University professor who predicted the financial crisis, said that he was 'still bearish' and that an economic recovery is going to take 'longer than expected.'

Corporate earnings will 'surprise on the downside,' Prof Roubini said in a speech in Hong Kong yesterday. 'Lots of banks, even the better ones, are going to be in trouble.'

Banks around the world have reported US$1.3 trillion in credit losses tied to the housing market collapse since 2007. The deficits, which spurred the first simultaneous recessions in the US, Europe and Japan since World War II, pushed the American government to pledge US$12.8 trillion to stabilise the banking system and revive economic growth.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which tumbled 38 per cent in 2008, has rallied 29 per cent after sinking to a 12-year low on March 9. Prof Roubini said that day that the S&P 500 is likely to drop to 600 or lower this year as the global recession deepens.

George Soros, the billionaire hedge-fund manager who made money last year while most peers suffered losses, said on April 6 that US stocks weren't at the start of a bull market yet because the economy is still shrinking.

'The current rally is a bear-market rally,' Prof Roubini told reporters after his speech. 'I don't expect a 50 per cent adjustment that I expected two years ago, but this is a dead-cat bounce, sucker's rally, whatever you want to call it.'

Prof Roubini's view contradicts that of investor Marc Faber, who said on April 13 that the S&P 500 may rise to 1,000 in the next three months as government spending boosts bank profits.

Markets are 'way ahead' of real economic data and this recession will last at least 24 months, Prof Roubini said. He predicted China's economy will grow 5.5 per cent in 2009, which is slower than the 8 per cent expansion the Chinese government is targeting.

Prof Roubini has stayed away from 'risky assets' including equities, and 95 per cent of his savings have gone into cash.

'Reserving capital, compared with losing 50 per cent of it, is good,' he said. -- Bloomberg

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S'pore ranks second-lowest for job satisfaction | Jorbb.com

SINGAPOREANS have long been suspected to be a dissatisfied bunch - and now there are numbers to add to that view.

In Robert Half's latest survey of finance professionals, Singapore ranks second-lowest worldwide for job satisfaction, with only 53 per cent of local respondents claiming to be satisfied with their job.

Ironically though, their dissatisfaction may stem largely from their uncertainty over being able to keep their job.

Ranked third-lowest worldwide for satisfaction with job security, only 54 per cent of local respondents said they were satisfied with job security in their current position.

'As job losses continue to mount, concerns about job security, career prospects and the ability to maintain a work-family balance as workload increases are heightened,' said Tim Hird, managing director of Robert Half Singapore.

'During these tough times, managers must demonstrate strong leadership in managing their staff, to not just allay their concerns but also to motivate and encourage them and keep overall employee morale high.'

Other Asians are not much happier in their jobs than Singaporeans, forming a regional theme of dissatisfaction. Bringing up the rear on the job satisfaction front, Japan ranked the lowest globally at 47 per cent, while Hong Kong was third-lowest at 54 per cent.

Worldwide, finance professionals in Dubai were the happiest job-wise, with 85 per cent claiming to be satisfied.

Singapore's finance professionals also scored low on company loyalty, with 59 per cent of them saying they felt 'very loyal' or 'rather loyal' to their firm.

The only other countries in the survey that ranked lower than Singapore on this count were Hong Kong and Japan with 42 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

Not surprisingly, only 11 per cent of local respondents said they plan to stay in their current job for the next 12 months, the smallest proportion worldwide.

Forty per cent are either actively looking for another job or plan to do so in the next 12 months. In Hong Kong - the only country to outrank Singapore in this area - 45 per cent of respondents plan a job change.

In Singapore, the main reason cited for a job switch was an increase in pay, for which 35 per cent indicated they would walk. A better work-life balance came in a distant second, with 21 per cent of respondents citing it is the reason for a job change.

'Especially in these uncertain times, we are advising both our clients and candidates to focus less on monetary compensation packages but more on the content and scalability of jobs,' said Mr Hird.

The survey was conducted by the consulting firm in October last year. It involved 3,556 finance professionals globally, 200 of whom were in Singapore.

This article was first published in The Business Times.

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Pay rises slow down in Singapore: survey | Jorbb.com

SALARY increases in Singapore are slowing down to a crawl, according to ECA International's latest Salary Trends Survey.

Held in February, the survey monitors how economic conditions have changed since its first run in September 2008. The data reflects nominal wage projections.

Singapore workers will see a lower pay increase of 2 per cent, down from 5 per cent last year. This is well below the regional average of 4.8 per cent and almost two-thirds lower than initial forecasts.

Of the 41 companies surveyed for Singapore, 36 per cent announced intentions to halt pay increases. These companies included multinational corporations (MNCs) as well as other companies headquartered here.

Other countries and territories in the region are also experiencing the squeeze. Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong have recorded a steep fall in expected wage increases. In addition, almost a third of Asia Pacific-based companies surveyed plan to freeze salaries.

However, there are still some bright sparks in the region.

India, Vietnam and Indonesia are expected to see wage increases of 10.8 per cent, 10.6 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.

In particular, Vietnam is the only country in the region where rises are predicted to outstrip last year's.

'There is still a huge demand for talent in India which is keeping salary increases high despite the current economic situation. While in Vietnam and Indonesia, persistently high levels of inflation are keeping increases up,' said Lee Quane, regional director for ECA International's Asia operations.

However, in most other countries including Singapore, annual inflation rates have fallen. Hence, 'real wage increases - the difference between actual salary increases and inflation - may not differ significantly from last year'.

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Grads flexible about salaries | Jorbb.com

FRESH graduate Wang Wei Xiang will jump at a job that pays $2,000 a month, even though it is $500 less than the average starting pay.

The 26-year-old, who has a degree in business management from Singapore Management University (SMU), is even willing to be an intern for $700 a month.

His overriding concern is that the job gives him experience in human resource and organisational development.

Mr Wang's flexible stance on pay is typical of the 800 new graduates who attended a job fair yesterday. Over 6,000 jobs were on offer from 28 organisations at the fair organised by Young NTUC, the youth arm of the National Trades Union Congress.

Participants included the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star), integrated resorts Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa, and pre-school operator NTUC First Campus.

About 12,000 are expected to graduate from the local universities this year, said NTUC assistant secretary-general Josephine Teo.

But at least 1,000 of them may find themselves without a job even after six months, should their employment rate hit the 87 per cent level of the 2003 Sars period, said an NTUC statement yesterday.

Hence, Mrs Teo, adviser to Young NTUC, urged graduates at the fair to promptly launch their career even if they cannot find their 'dream' job. Whatever the job, it will give them new skills, she said.

She also highlighted the large number of jobs on offer at the fair, saying it shows there are still many opportunities despite the downturn.

Mrs Teo's advice struck a chord with SMU marketing graduate Desiree Koh, 24. 'I'll accept a starting pay of about $2,000. I'm still young,' she said.

Employers at the fair said most of the students they met yesterday were enthusiastic and willing to learn. Resorts World's assistant vice-president for communications Robin Goh said it received 300 applications at the fair. The most popular jobs were that of a croupier and of supervising operations at theme park Universal Studios Singapore.

Four in five asked questions that showed they were keen to find a good job fit, while one in five were interested only in the starting pay, he said.

The National Council of Social Service also saw some interest in the 100 positions for social workers, special education teachers and other staff. Most of the interested 80 graduates were initially unaware of the role of the sector, equating social service work with volunteer service, a spokesman said.

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and National University of Singapore (NUS) are also helping graduates find jobs. NTU has waived charges for employers to set up job booths on campus, said its career and attachment office director Loh Pui Wah. At NUS, students are getting help with job interview skills and setting up their own ventures, said its career centre director Corrine Ong.

Young NTUC plans to hold three networking sessions on specific industries to help new graduates find jobs. It also started an online employment advisory service yesterday for undergraduates and new graduates, at www.youngntuc.org.sg.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

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Time to embrace flexi-work | Jorbb.com

OFFERING employees the freedom to work fewer and more flexible hours could help companies trim costs and lift productivity amid the downturn.

Fewer hours - meaning lower pay - could help rein in salary costs. And offering more flexible hours to employees can also improve the bottom line, studies overseas have shown.

But perhaps what's best about flexi-work is that unlike retrenchment, it is likely to be embraced by young and old alike - with benefits that could well outlast the downturn.

At least three recent studies here have shown that flexi-work is a tempting carrot that would entice older folk from retirement and wean new mothers from baby bottles back to their Blackberries.

The latest, reported by The Straits Times last month, showed that 72 per cent of 1,000 workers polled would be encouraged to remain in the workforce for as long as possible in their senior years - if given fewer and more flexible work hours. Data for this survey was culled from a global study on the future of retirement by Oxford University.

Another recently released survey of 3,000 baby-boomers here, commissioned by the Government, yielded similar findings.

In yet another Government survey made public last July, more than 60 per cent of 25,000 unemployed older folk who planned to look for work said they preferred part-time work.

Same for mothers of young children. In a survey of 1,000 mothers who were either working or looking for jobs here last year, 85 per cent said flexible hours and results-based performance evaluation would best help them cope with the dual demands of children and career. The survey was commissioned by baby food company, Friesland.

But this groundswell of opinion has so far had little effect among employers.

Indeed, the Oxford survey, which interviewed 300 employers here as well, found that only 43 per cent of employers were willing to offer flexible work to older workers. The remaining 57 per cent, presumably, are against such arrangements - or at least undecided. Contrast that with Britain, where studies have shown that fewer than a tenth of all requests for flexi-work are turned down.

The Singapore working mothers survey, for its part, found that nearly two-thirds of the mothers were unable to re-enter the workforce after childbirth as they failed to find jobs that offered 'family-friendly' hours.

Figures from the Ministry of Manpower made public last December show that only 7.4 per cent of private sector employees here are on flexible work schedules, up from about 5 per cent in 2006.

If you include the public sector, the proportion of employees on flexible work arrangements in 2008 was 9.4 per cent.

While the numbers here are inching up, Singapore is still a far cry from countries like the United States and Britain, where nearly 30 per cent of employees work on flexible schedules.

So why the lag here?

The biggest hitch is that many employers still view 'face-time' at the workplace as an important criterion in evaluating staff performance and productivity, says Mr Josh Goh, senior manager for corporate services at recruitment firm GMP. They fail to recognise that there is little correlation between productivity and the number of hours worked, he says.

Chief executive officer of HR firm LifeWorkz, Ms Cheryl Liew, points out that many firms here have the misconception that the nature of their businesses is simply not conducive to flexi-hours.

Many small companies, for instance, equate telecommuting - that is, working from a computer at home - with flexi-work. They think that if they don't have sophisticated IT infrastructure, they cannot afford to be more flexible.

But telecommuting - ideal for desk-bound executives hooked up to office computer systems - is not the only type of flexi-work. There can be flexibility in both the scheduling and number of hours worked.

These include a 'compressed work week', where an employee works an extra few hours every work day, to be on a three- or four-day week. This is ideal for those in manufacturing.

Job-sharing - where two employees share one full-time position - has also proved to be useful to those in administrative or shift-based jobs.

Finally, there is the 'annualised hours' scheme where, instead of say 40-hours a week, employees are given an annual quota of the number of hours they need to work. Such a scheme is useful especially for organisations that have round-the-clock operations.

But companies here remain apprehensive about heavier administrative loads on managers in terms of communicating, supervising and scheduling the working time of employees.

This needs to change, say some experts on productivity. There is increasing evidence that flexible hours are not just a boon for employees, but for the company's bottom line too.

A 2006 study by Georgetown University in the US, for instance, cited several cases of companies that raked in more revenue even as they gave their employees more freedom in how and where they did their work.

Chubb, a Fortune 500 insurance company which implemented various forms of flexi-work in its claim services department, found a 40 per cent jump in claims processed, and a dramatic reduction in overtime costs.

Global IT giant IBM, for its part, saved US$20 million (S$30.6 million) in operating costs annually and over 500,000 sq ft of real estate by allowing employees to telecommute.

While Singapore companies watch and wait, the US and Britain are both beefing up their flexi-work mechanisms.

On Jan 30, days after being sworn into office, US President Barack Obama announced the formation of a task force to find ways for overloaded parents to better balance their work and family lives.

And from next month, a new British law will make it a right for all working parents with children under 16 to ask for flexible working conditions.

There is no need for legislation here yet, but clearly it's time to delve deeper into flexi options.

As work slows and morale dips, giving employees a choice on when and where they work could be the cheerful upside of this depressing downturn.

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Resorts World to open up more job openings in mid 2009

Good news for jobseekers who are looking for jobs at the integrated resorts.

Resorts World at Sentosa will ramp up its hiring from June.

William Fong, 46, was among the 20,000 people who applied for a job at Resorts Worlds recently.

The former assistant engineer was retrenched early this year.

Now, the father of three has reasons to smile again.

He said: “After my first interview at Resorts World, they offered me a job as a slot technician. I feel glad that this company is really concerned about workers who are older and with lower qualifications.”

Resorts World has received overwhelming response to its recruitment efforts - it gets up to 200 online applications everyday.

Resorts World currently has more than 800 job openings. So far, only 10 of those positions have been filled, but Resorts World is looking forward to bringing in more new hires soon.

But those who did not get the positions they had applied for should not fret.

Assistant vice-president of communications at Resorts World at Sentosa, Robin Goh, said: “What may happen is that we may look through their resumes, and if we find them a fit in other attractions we have, Universal Theme Park for example, we may refer them to the Universal team to do the selection."

Resorts World says it is committed to hiring Singaporeans for the 10,000 positions available.

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Tourism training institute sees 50% spike in course demand | Jorbb.com

The Tourism Management Institute of Singapore (TMIS) has seen demand for its training courses spike 50 per cent in the first quarter of this year as more companies take advantage of generous government training incentives during this economic downturn.

H P Loi, CEO of TMIS, said: "We have a lot of corporate companies – travel agents, hotels and even airlines – send their people to us for training. When you have people coming in groups, the numbers went up a lot."

This hike in interest is coupled with the fact that Singapore's integrated resorts are scheduled to open soon.

The 22-year-old institute, which is the training arm of NATAS, is one of the larger centres offering mostly skills-based training, ranging from short courses to longer diploma stints.

TMIS has some 500 foreign students and 3,000 local students each year, and it said the number of locals is growing sharply.

"There are two categories of local students. One category is from the industry doing upgrading and the other is made up of people interested in joining the tourism industry. These could be mid-career people who want to switch or young people who are interested to get in," said Mr Loi.

However, the increase in numbers has led to a problem – a shortage of good trainers. The problem is compounded when some are poached by other schools.

"Right now, it's okay. But in a few months, it may be different. Trainers must have relevant experience – you can be a PhD holder but not necessarily a good lecturer," Mr Loi added.

The training institute moved to the Singapore Shopping Centre some one and a half years ago, but it is already running out of space. By the time the lease ends in 2011, it may have to look for bigger premises, such as an old school.

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Jobseekers say more than 4 months needed to get new job | Jorbb.com

Eight in 10 jobseekers from more than 85 countries around the world predicted it would take unemployed workers more than four months to find a new job in today's turbulent market.

And four in 10 said the process might take seven months or even longer.

This is according to a recent survey of some 1,000 unemployed executives by the Korn/Ferry Institute, a talent management and leadership research firm.

Forty-three per cent of executives surveyed said they are keen on pursuing studies during the downturn.

Most jobless executives looking at educational opportunities were considering MBAs or other advanced degrees.

The survey also found that while 55 per cent of the jobseekers spent the majority of their time between jobs looking for new opportunities, one in four focused their time on professional development.

One in 10 chose to spend time more leisurely with family and friends, while seven per cent went on a vacation.

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84% of professionals here eye foreign postings: poll

FOUR out of five professional workers in Singapore look forward to a foreign posting during their career - more than in many other countries, according to an international poll.

Commissioned by London-based recruitment firm Alexander Mann Solutions (AMS), the poll found that professionals here are 'strongly motivated by opportunities for mobility, with 84 per cent interested in either a regional or international move'.

Overall, the poll of 1,400 professional and senior workers in the UK, Asia-Pacific, Australia and the US found that 78 per cent are keen to move abroad.

It also found that Singapore professionals are the most willing - 49 per cent - to move overseas in a similar position to their current job. The global average is 42 per cent.

But most of the professional workers polled do not get the chance to relocate. Only two out of five professionals in Singapore got a foreign posting in the past three years. The global figure was slightly higher at 45 per cent.

'It is evident that employees want fresh challenges and opportunities for mobility in their careers, and 84 per cent of those surveyed in Singapore have reflected this desire,' says AMS Asia-Pacific client director Allison Baird. 'International jobs are given much more value, with global experience being recognised.'

Foreign postings are not always available, she says. And this gap between supply and demand means organisations risk losing talent to competitors who can provide global experience.

According to the poll, the main drive to move overseas - cited by 74 per cent of respondents - is 'quality of job opportunity'.

Less that two-thirds - 62 per cent - are moved by the potential to earn more, while 59 per cent want to experience a new culture or travel.

'Recognising (the) appetite for change is becoming crucial for organisations as they seek to nurture their top performers,' says the Managing Mobility report that contains the poll results. 'Employers in Singapore placed the highest encouragement on mobility compared with other regions, but still remained low at only 27 per cent,' the report says.

An overseas posting is generally seen as a good career move.

Among Hongkongers, it is also highly prized for its exposure to Western working environments and practices.

And in Australia, it is viewed as a key to career development, especially work in the UK and Ireland.

Professional workers in the UK, while among those who place the highest value on an overseas posting, are also the least exposed to openings abroad.

Just 7 per cent of British professionals polled have secured an international placement and 48 per cent have no experience of 'departmental, regional or international mobility'.

Except in certain industries, international openings are least important to professionals in the US.

In another survey, by US-based human resources firm Kelly Services, half of the workers polled in Singapore said that they are willing to forgo pay and position for more meaningful work - roughly in line with the global number.

In particular, older workers here rank job satisfaction higher than money. Three in five baby boomers (aged 48-65) indicated this, compared with 47 per cent of Generation Y (aged 18-29) workers.

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Hirings down but pay steady | Jorbb.com

EXECUTIVES, professionals and managers can breathe a little easier: despite job cuts and hiring freezes, salaries have not dropped.

International recruitment firm Robert Walters, which released its annual salary survey on Wednesday, said it found 'salaries in Singapore are at least holding relatively steady'.

The only exception is in financial services, which 'continues to be extremely tough'.

The company's manager for the sector, Mr Pan Zaixian, said that back-of-the-house functions such as operations and finance had slowed down, as a 'downstream' effect, because the 'front office is not making money'.

In banks, hiring freezes and pay cuts have pushed people to seek jobs in 'less volatile' industries, such as the public sector, because of the security offered.

Skills-wise, sales and business development executives, who have the relevant industry knowledge, are in higher demand than other workers, said the survey.

Companies want them because they are able to 'hunt' out and bring in business for them, unlike marketing functions - which increases costs to the company - said Mr Andree Mangels, a manager for sales and marketing jobs.

Contract jobs, not just in information technology, are getting more popular with both employees and employers.

Said Mr Pan: 'In the past, people don't want contracts because it's not stable. They would never consider it. Now people who are looking for placements will voluntarily tell you they would take them.'

For the full Robert Walters Global Salary Survey, go to www.robertwalters.com/salarysurvey

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Retrenched professionals urged to consider becoming entrepreneurs | Jorbb.com

Professionals who have lost their jobs in the current economic environment are being urged to consider becoming entrepreneurs.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan said the entrepreneurship landscape in Singapore remains healthy, with start-ups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) still venturing overseas.

He said opportunities still exist for entrepreneurs who are resourceful and imaginative.

Data from SPRING Singapore showed that more start-up companies and at least two-thirds of all SMEs in Singapore now have operations overseas.

Of these SMEs, a quarter earned half their revenue from overseas last year - although this figure has fallen slightly over 2007.

The success stories include firms like Sakae Sushi and Charles & Keith, which started operations during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997.

Mr Lee said the current economic crisis could present opportunities for Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs), who may have lost their jobs.

He said: "If you look at new ventures... many of them are started by professionals who work in certain industries for the last 10, 15 years and by then, they have acquired a very specialised knowledge of that industry.

"They know if they were to set up a company, how their company is going to value add. So I think in the PMET market likewise, there would be some of them who are in this unique position.

"But to cross over from a professional to an entrepreneur, of course there are some skills needed, and this is where I think our Enterprise Development Centre and our incubators can advise."

Entrepreneurs are also getting younger - with some 65 per cent under the age of 40. And SPRING Singapore is planning to reach out to more youths.

Mr Lee said: "If we one day can make them start and wind down a business in the course of their studies, then they will bring this skill set and experience with them, they may start a new business upon graduation, or they may do so 15 years later.

"But they have the confidence to say that 'Yes I have done it before, and I am ready to take it to the world now.'"

Two programmes catering to young entrepreneurs were launched last year under the YES! Scheme. Under the scheme, SPRING Singapore received 12 applications from schools seeking funds for entrepreneurship programmes and has approved two of them.

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Helping students via SMS alerts and internships | Jorbb.com

WITH many multinational corporations putting the brakes on hiring this year, the Nanyang Technological University has set its sights on government agencies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to hire its graduates.

Over the past few months, the university's career services officers have been cultivating ministries and SMEs to participate in NTU career fairs and recruitment talks.

Their efforts appear to have paid off. Out of the 107 organisations at NTU's two-day career fair which ended last Thursday, 28 per cent were from the public sector - double the number last year.

Some of the government agencies which participated included the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA) and Ministry of Education.

NTU career and attachment office director Loh Pui Wah said it took work to 'track down' new partners but the university was willing to put in the effort for the sake of its students.

In previous years, NTU used to rely on mass recruitment drives by MNCs and banks to hire a majority of its graduates.

About 5,000 graduates emerge from NTU each year. Last May, The Straits Times reported that 90 per cent of NTU students who graduated in 2007 got jobs within a month of graduating.

Mr Loh said recruitment by SMEs from growing sectors such as shipyard maintenance, chemical manufacturing and gaming can potentially make up for the hiring freezes by multinationals.

Mr Loh said: '[The SMEs offer] one or two positions but when you add all of this up, the numbers can be quite sizeable.'

NTU also introduced a new SMS service last month to alert students of job openings. Graduating students who fit the requirements of companies will receive SMS alerts informing them of new job opportunities.

It is looking at setting up a portal for students to upload their resumes for employers to view. It will be opening more venues on campus for career counselling to help students manage job expectations.

Mr Loh said that NTU is confident that these efforts will allow 80 to 90 per cent of its graduates to get a job offer by the time they graduate in July.

Other educational institutions are also doing their bit to get their students jobs.

The Singapore Management University and National University of Singapore are organising a series of recruitment and internship events in the next few weeks.

Singapore Polytechnic is going further by offering short term or contract jobs on campus to some students who will be graduating in May.

The students can be engaged in work such as estate management and maintenance, creating multimedia applications or assisting lecturers in research projects.

Having these opportunities to find jobs is comforting for graduating students.

NTU electrical and electronic engineering final-year student Jason Teo, 25, was armed with 10 copies of his resume when he attended NTU's career fair.

He said:'I used to think that I only want to work in the semi-conductor industry. Now I am open for jobs in any engineering company. Hopefully, I will get an offer.'

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Biomedical sector will create 900 new jobs this year | Jorbb.com

Despite facing challenges from the slowing global economy, the biomedical sector will create 900 new jobs this year as companies go ahead with their expansion plans here.

These include firms such as Wyeth, Abbott, GSK Bio, Schering Plough and Perkin Elmer, Minister of Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang said in Parliament on Monday.

To date, 11 of the world’s top pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have already invested in more than 25 manufacturing facilities in Singapore, with another seven new plants set to open in the next three years.

‘We are confident that more will come to Singapore so that they can reach out to the Asian market more effectively,’ said Mr Lim. ‘Demand for effective medicines will continue to grow because people become more affluent and people age.’

Singapore should also ‘prepare for the upturn’ by entering new niches, such as medical technology and biologics, which are complex molecules derived from cells of mammals, bacteria and yeast.

Biologics in particular is expected to grow at 13 per cent a year, compared to just 0.9 per cent for the traditional pharmaceutical market, Mr Lim said.

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Singapore developer says office demand plunged | Jorbb.com

CapitaLand Ltd, Southeast Asia's largest property developer, said demand for Singapore office space plummeted last year as the global financial crisis knocked the city-state into recession.

"There was a big surge in demand for offices 10 or 11 months ago ... but it suddenly stops and falls off a cliff," CapitaLand Chief Executive Liew Mun Leong said at a news conference. "We know the market is softening and volume has gone down, and prices will be softening."

The company's fourth quarter profit fell 88 percent to 78 million Singapore dollars ($52.2 million) from SG$675 million a year earlier, Liew said. CapitaLand also plans to raise SG$1.84 billion by selling one new share for every two held by investors.

Singapore's real estate market is reeling from a deep recession and job losses in the financial industry, which helps support demand for the country's most expensive residential and commercial property. The economy contracted 17 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter.

Property prices rocketed between 2005 and 2007, luring some investors looking for a quick buck with speculative purchases. Private home prices surged 31 percent in 2007 as the economy expanded 7.7 percent.

Last year, prices fell 4.7 percent and economic growth slowed to 1.2 percent. The government expects gross domestic product to shrink as much as 5 percent this year.

"This was a classic property market bubble," said Tim Murphy, managing director of Hong Kong-based property investment company IP Global. "By the end, you had taxi drivers trying to double their money in 10 minutes. That only leads to one thing — a crash."

The government said last month that prices of private residential property dropped 6.1 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter, their steepest fall in a decade, and office rentals fell 6.5 percent.

High-end residential and commercial property will likely fall between 15 percent and 20 percent in the first half and remain flat in the second as a deepening global economic slowdown undermines consumer confidence, Murphy said.

"With the data that's coming out, I can't see anyone in Singapore who reads a newspaper being confident enough to buy real estate," he said. "People have been too frightened."

Liew declined to say how much he expected property prices to fall this year.

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Downturn a "perfect opportunity" to tool up | Jorbb.com

Despite the challenges in a tough economic situation, CEO of MSIG Holdings (Asia), Alan Wilson, says it is now a "perfect opportunity" to pick up talent for the future.

According to Wilson, 2008 profits for MSIG remain in the "comfortable" margins. However, the recession will throw up several new challenges for the organisation which include an increase in the number of cashflow problems and bad debts from clients, a spike in the number of dubious claims and a smaller return on investments during the next two years.

But there are opportunities to be tapped into during this downturn, Wilson adds, as MSIG is using this downturn to pick up talent that have been laid off from their struggling competitors and from regions such as North America and Europe.

Despite the industry's technicalities, insurance is still a people-based business where the capacity and capability to move ahead depend on the "quality and quantity of people that you have", Wilson says.

"Although times may be tough, it is a time for us to say, 'Are there areas of business which we are not in or strong at the moment where we can retool or tool up on?' And we can acquire talent which is available right now, and it is a perfect opportunity to do so."

For an insurance provider where labour and rent are the two biggest costs, will there be any cost-cutting action taken? While the company is "looking to be sensible about its costs", the focus is how employees can work smarter and more efficiently. Some of the initiatives now revolve around looking at conducting business in a more cost-efficient way, and introducing a standardization of best practices across the various 11 operations in the region.

"Although it is an expense, we are also looking at how we can invest in the future. It is not just running today's business, but also investing in tomorrow's business. We are investing in various areas such as new IT systems, new ways of doing business, and building the brand to make sure that we are well-positioned for the future."

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CDCs gearing up to help those seeking employment, social assistance | Jorbb.com

Singapore’s Community Development Councils (CDCs) have been seeing an increase in the number of people seeking job help and social assistance over the last few months.

The majority of them are aged 40 years and above.

South West CDC has seen a 52 per cent rise in the number of residents seeking jobs over the last five months, while South East CDC registered some 1,800 job seekers during the same period.

It is a similar picture over at North West CDC —— it saw 42 per cent more job seekers in the same period, with numbers spiking from October when the recession first hit.

Besides job help, more residents have also been seeking social assistance.

Mayor of North West CDC, Teo Ho Pin, said: "Means testing is the best way to determine how much and how to help the residents and their family members. So by working with our partners, especially our grassroots organisations, the welfare communities, constituencies and volunteer welfare organisations, we are able to conduct a proper means testing and identify the needs of the family members and render assistance accordingly."

Besides providing social assistance to the needy, the CDCs are also focusing their attention on job matching. Over the years, these councils have been able to build up close rapport with a number of companies within their area.

The CDCs have also been organising job fairs featuring openings available in particular sectors of the Singapore economy.

These are expected to continue as the CDCs brace themselves for larger retrenchment numbers after the Lunar New Year.


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Undergrads on the job hunt are spooked by grey clouds on economic horizon | Jorbb.com

UNDERGRADUATE May Zhang has given herself six months to find a job in the corporate world upon graduation; failing which, she may open a cafe with her boyfriend.

While she will graduate only in July — she has yet to take her final-year exam — Ms Zhang is already starting to worry about whether she will land her dream job with a communication consulting firm.

“I’m worried because there are fewer jobs available and we hear stories about friends who got retrenched after they found a job after graduation last year,” said Ms Zhang, 23, who is doing a double major in economics and corporate communications at the Singapore Management University (SMU).

But instead of leaving everything to chance after graduation, Ms Zhang has already mapped out her plans post-SMU.

“I’ll try to use the six months after graduation to find a job. There’s no point waiting to find the dream job because I can start my own business,” said Ms Zhang, who has already sent out resumes to three companies.

The avid baker, who started an online blogshop selling cupcakes one-and-a-half years ago, is considering opening a cafe with her boyfriend. She said: “I’ve always thought of setting up my own cafe. It’s an opportunity now to start my business.”

Like Ms Zhang, many final-year undergraduates interviewed by Weekend Xtra are also starting to worry — not about getting their dream job, but getting a job at all. Never mind that graduation is a good six months away.

At this time last year, most final-year students would have been more concerned with project deadlines, revising for their exams and less stressful matters, like planning their post-graduation holidays.

But with Singapore possibly facing the worst recession in its history, many undergraduates are putting worries about their job prospects at the top of their lists. Some 15,000 students are expected to graduate from Singapore’s three universities in July.

Said Dr Helen Chai, assistant dean of undergraduate admissions and the director of BBA programmes at the NUS Business School: “I think students are in tune with the current times and they are well-prepared for the situation ... They are exploring their options to enhance their career versatility, including the school’s concurrent masters programmes.”

Lowered expectations

For some, being well-prepared means sending out their resumes now instead of in April, when the exams are over, to give themselves a headstart over their peers.

It also means paying more attention to job advertisements in newspapers and career talks held by their universities.

Some undergraduates told Weekend Xtra that they are also lowering their job expectations, and that they are ready toaccept a lower salary or work in an industry that is not their first choice.

NUS civil engineering final-year student Yang Chang Han, said: “I’m planning to job hunt now; I had wanted to start after my exams. I’ve heard of people who have looked for a job for six months and are still jobless. Hearing their stories scares me.”

When asked whether his friends are also worried, Mr Yang, 25, said: “The question that we ask each other now is — ‘Have you found a job?’” He added that he is also willing to lower his pay expectations to $2,500, from his original target of $3,000.

Ms Jessie Loy, 23, is considering teaching as a career, even though she did not set out to be a teacher when she opted for mass communications at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

She said: “Recently, there was a teaching award seminar by the Ministry of Education and I thought I’d be one of the few ones from my course to attend it. But there were quite a lot of my coursemates there; they said they were checking it out as a potential back-up because they don’t know how the economy will be once they graduate.”

Another option that more undergraduates are considering is furthering their studies, such as pursuing a Masters degree.

Ms Qian Xiao Hui, 21, is considering doing a Masters in Financial Engineering if she doesn’t get a job when the banks make their customary hiring rounds in February. The final-year banking and finance student at NTU said: “I don’t want to compete in the bad job market. Education is an investment.”

Although the private sector may not be hiring as much as they used to, the public sector remains a good place for undergraduates to seek their first jobs. Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam announced in his recent Budget speech that the Government would open up 18,000 new public sector jobs over the next two years across different ministries and statutory boards for all levels of employees.

Still, despite such openings, the job market will still be a tough year for fresh graduates, given the high number of job losses expected this year, said Mr Alvin Liew, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank.

Professor Michael Heng, from NTU’s School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, said that while the job market may be tight, graduates who are flexible in their job hunt should have no problem finding a job.

He said: “You need to see your skills differently. If you see yourself as having a capability and not just having hard skills, you have no problem finding a job. Paywise, you still have to adjust expectations, but if you do well in your job, there’ll be no problem getting pay increments.”

Despite the bleak outlook, some students already have jobs waiting for them come July — thanks to the help given by their respective universities (see sidebar).

Mr Colin Teo, a final-year student at NTU’s Nanyang Business School, took up an offer from the school to intern at one of the Big Four accounting firms last June.

The 24-year-old said: “I signed up for it because I already felt the signs when the sub-prime crisis started and the US dollar started to weaken. I know I had to do an internship at one of the Big Four to secure a job.”

He approached his internship company last November for a job and got an offer ahead of his peers. Given the tough economic climate, Mr Teo said: “It’s better to be somewhere now than nowhere. It’s barely six months to graduation and some people are not even getting job offers. But they are not in total despair; they are still taking things in their stride.”

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Unemployment rate rose to 2.6% | Jorbb.com

SINGAPORE'S job growth has slowed significantly, with the manufacturing sector bleeding jobs for the first time since 2003.

Preliminary estimates released on Friday morning by the Manpower Ministry showed 26,900 jobs in all added from October to December last year, half of the gains of 55,700 in the previous quarter.

The whole of last year saw 227,200 jobs being added, down from 234,900 in 2007.

Employment in manufacturing contracted by 6,200 in the fourth quarter last year.

The main driver of the economy, services, also saw fewer jobs added for the third straight quarter.

It added 21,900 jobs, down from a high of 46,500 at the beginning of the year.

Construction added 10,800 jobs, down from 16,500 in the previous quarter.

Both locals and foreigners benefited from employment growth, but local employment grew slower, by 70,400 last year, down from 90,400 in the previous year.

Foreign employment rose by 156,900 last year, up from 144,500 the previous year.

With the downturn deepening, job growth has slowed for both locals and foreigners in the last quarter of the year, the ministry said, without giving figures.

As at December, the workforce was made up of 1.9 million locals (64 per cent) and 1,057,700 foreigners (36 per cent).

The ministry also released figures of workers who were laid off and those who were let go prematurely from their contracts.

A spokesman said this was to give a more complete picture of people who would have lost their jobs.

Their ranks swelled to 8,500 in the fourth quarter of last year, up from 3,178 in the previous quarter.

For the whole of last year, 16,000 workers were made redundant, up from 8,592 the previous year.

Correspondingly, unemployment has risen.

It rose to 2.6 per cent in December, from 2.2 per cent in September.

The unemployment rate averaged 2.3 per cent last year, up from 2.1 per cent in 2007. This is the first time it has risen since the peak of 4 per cent in 2003, the ministry noted.

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Marina Bay Sands seeks to hire those who underwent retraining under SPUR | Jorbb.com

Marina Bay Sands is ramping up its hiring of retrenched professionals who have undergone retraining under the Professional Conversion Programme.

This comes after the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) was expanded in this year's Budget to give professionals more subsidies to undergo training and take up jobs in a different industry.

When it was first announced that the Marina Bay Sands Integrated Resort will open its doors at the end of this year, many in the industry were worried about labour shortage.

But with the current recession, it appears this may no longer be the case.

Sands has been busy interviewing 8,000 rank-and-file workers retrained by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) recently.

It's now working with the labour movement's training arm to fill 2,000 supervisory and management positions in the integrated resort.

Sands said it will consider hiring retrained professionals for these positions.

Ang Hin Kee, CEO, Employment & Emplyability Institute, E2i, said: “They've agreed to work together to see how we can take advantage of this budget which will provide more resources. Let’s take advantage of the fact that there are more talents who may be interested in entering the IR industry, and that is win-win for both.

“Someone with prior experience in another industry who is familiar with dealing and managing a group of people, working shifts can actually move across and take up these positions. This alleviates the manpower crunch from the hospitality trade because if everybody starts to take from the same pool, that pool will dry up soon.”

Training institutes including polytechnics and universities are currently designing professional conversion programmes for those interested in joining the tourism sector.

90 per cent of the course fees will be subsidised by the government.

More details on these programmes will be released in February. -CNA/vm

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Singaporeans urged to brace for challenging new year | Jorbb.com

Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Singapore has strengths to weather the current recession and he called on Singaporeans to brace themselves for a challenging Year of the Ox.

In his lunar new year message released on Sunday morning, the Prime Minister said there is no need to be despondent about the downturn.

"Singapore has strengths which will let us outlast this recession," he said, "we have the resources, the programs, and the tenacity to ride the storm. "

The Prime Minister said the ox symbolizes fortitude and hard work in the Chinese zodiac. "It is not a fast or aggressive animal, but is strong and completely dependable. In the same way, we can see through the year with quiet resolution."

Talking about the 2009 Budget which was announced on Thursday, the Prime Minister said the government has thought over very carefully on seeking the President's approval to draw on reserves. He said the reserves were built up patiently over the years, so that in a critical situation they could be used to mount a vigorous response.

"By using our reserves for the two special schemes, we are making clear that we intend to respond to the crisis decisively and with all means at our disposal," Lee said, but he said when things return to normal, the habit of putting something aside in the reserves should be resumed.

The Prime Minister also noted the important roles of community and family. He said family unit is the bedrock in all communities, and the most important life-raft in times of crisis.

"In this festive period, let us remember that Chinese New Year is a time for togetherness. It is the time for families to come together to rejoice in the company of their loved ones and to build lasting memories and bonds," he said.

Source: Xinhua

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Budget 2009 - Highlights | Jorbb.com

A S$20.56 billion Resilience Package, with the key message on keeping jobs.

1. Cut in corporate tax rate from 18% to 17% wef YA2010. The budget has even sharpened Singapore's cost-competitiveness by cutting the corporate income tax rate by 1ppt to 17%, which makes Singapore's tax rate compare favourably with Hong Kong's 16.5%.

2. S$800m property tax rebates for industrial and commercial properties this year.

3. S$5.1b to save jobs. Employers will get a 12% cash grant on the first S$2,500 earned by each employee on the CPF payroll. The government will increase recruitment in the public sector, creating 18,000 jobs over the next two years. It is equivalent to a 9 ppt CPF rate cut.

4. Extend $5.8b in government capital for a Special Risk-Sharing Initiative (SRI) to stimulate bank lending. Lending to SMEs will receive a boost with the government now upping its share of risk on bridging loans to 80% from 50%. The loan quantum will now also cater to larger companies, with the increase to $5 million from $500,000.

5. Tax measures and grants for businesses of $2.6b. Government-sharing in risk for trade financing.

6. $2.6b will go towards supporting Singaporean households this year.

§ Households will benefit in the form of additional GST rebates worth $580 million.

§ An extension of the 20% personal income tax rebate from last year.

§ The 40% property tax rebate for owner-occupied residential properties will also take away additional costs for households.

§ Ensuring first time home buyers are able to afford public housing, the government has increased the additional CPF housing grant to $40,000 from $30,000.

7. $4.4b on developing infrastructure, education and health care.

For full budget report, please access the Singapore Budget website at http://www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/ For feedback on the Singapore Budget Speech 2009, please access the Singapore Budget Feedback website at www.singaporebudget.gov.sg/feedback.html.

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Two ways to stimulate employment | Jorbb.com

Many economic studies have shown that university graduates who enter the workforce during recessions earn substantially less than those who start work when the economy is growing. Researchers Philip Oreopoulos, Till von Wachter and Andrew Heisz - of the University of Toronto, Columbia University and Statistics Canada, respectively - studied Canadian university graduates between 1982 and 1999. Graduates entering the labour market during recessions started with lower earnings and caught up only after eight to 10 years.

In Singapore, the experience of young people graduating during recessions has been relatively easier because of rapid economic growth. A friend who graduated in accountancy during the 1985 recession, for example, remarked that her cohort was set back initially, with the luckiest getting jobs at a mere $600 a month. But they quickly caught up when the economy recovered. Today, many are well-paid chief financial officers.

However, the picture may not be quite so rosy in the future. As Singapore's economy matures, its long-term rate of economic growth will decline. From 1980 to 2007, Singapore's average growth rate was 7 per cent per annum. The official forecast is for future growth rates to average from 3 to 5 per cent per annum.

With lower overall economic growth, the prospects for graduating university and polytechnic students are distinctly worrying - and not just in the short term.

What should we do? Our greatest challenge now is to provide jobs. Policymakers and economists all over the world are debating how to stave off recession and provide employment: Would lower interest rates do the trick or bank guarantees? Spending on infrastructure or tax cuts?

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NTUC says more youths aged under 30 will start feeling impact of downturn | Jorbb.com

More youths aged under 30 will start to feel the impact of the recession as the year progresses.

The unemployment rate for this group of youths was 4.1 per cent recently but NTUC said it is likely to go up this year.

However, the labour movement said, the figure is still far better than those in other countries at the moment.

And, among the 55,800 unemployed in Singapore, about 31 per cent of them are youths.

The present economic downturn is the first major one for many young adults.

To help prepare them if they get the axe, NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) held a retrenchment simulation exercise.

NTUC said there are about 6,000 immediate job vacancies across all sectors at the moment. But the main challenge when it comes to young adults is managing their own expectations.

NTUC Assistant Secretary General, Josephine Teo, said: “The terms and conditions of employment may not be what they expect. So the purpose of this activity (retrenchment simulation exercise) is also to help them to understand that challenges are now different and therefore they also have to adjust their expectations accordingly.”

Despite the downturn, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said Singapore could still rely on its strong dollar and reserves.

“Because if the whole economy is in doubt or it collapses and nobody even believes in your currency anymore - like it has happened in some countries like Iceland - then we’re really in deep trouble,” he said.

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More jobs for the unemployed | Jorbb.com

Plans to hire 4,500 people in the health industry has been brought forward in a bid to provide jobs for the workers who got retrenched.

The range of jobs provided includes health-care professionals, like nurses and pharmacists to administrative positions like the counter staff and telephone operators, with recruitment taking place effectively. The original plan was to hire 6,200 people over a period of 5 years, according to a report by The Straits Times. However, the credit crunch has pushed forward such plans to a level in tandem with demands for employment. The Ministry of Health intends to boost the existing pool of practitioners by 40%.

In addition, other government bodies like the Home Affairs and Education ministries will be recruiting 1,000 to 7,500 people this year respectively.

The Government Parliamentary Committee's deputy chairman Lam Pin Min said, "The acceleration of recruitment will be a win-win solution." He added the plan will help alleviate the manpower crunch in the health-care sector and provide career opportunities for those who are retrenched or considering a mid-career switch.

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Freeze pay to save jobs | Jorbb.com

MORE Singapore companies would consider freezing salaries rather than axing staff when trying to deal with the financial crisis.

The approach from firms here differs from that of other Asia Pacific nations, according to a survey conducted last year by global consulting firm Watson Wyatt.

'In terms of salary freeze and slowdown in salary increment, the percentages from Singapore companies are higher than Asia-Pacific average,' said Associate Professor Mak Yuen Teen, the firm's Asia-Pacific regional research director.

It found that 38 per cent of Singapore respondents would opt for salary freezes while the average across Asia-Pacific was just 16 per cent.

'There are also relatively fewer Singapore companies (32 per cent) that consider layoffs as a contingency plan, compared to Taiwan (44 per cent), Philippines (61 per cent) or Malaysia (50 per cent),' added Assoc Prof Mak, who presented the survey findings on Thursday.

He said employers in the Asia-Pacific as a whole are more prepared to take on contingency measures, including hiring freezes, organisational restructuring, slowing pace of salary increases, layoffs and salary freezes.

About 84 per cent of employers in Asia-Pacific have established such plans, compared with 67 per cent in the United States and 80 per cent in Europe.

'I guess Asian companies are still thinking about the '97 financial crisis,' said Assoc Prof Mak.

He also warned that the established contingency plans may have reduced employee engagement, which may lead to increased human capital risks.

These risks are related to issues like loss of key personnel, skills shortage, knowledge management and succession.

Assoc Prof Mak said that it was important to ensure cost-cutting measures were implemented fairly.

'Continuous employee engagement requires fair human resource practices and processes. Fairness and communication are a large part of what's extremely important in employee engagement,' he said.

'Employers need to explain the reasons behind major decisions such as layoffs.'

He added that rewards should be linked to performance, and that strong strategic direction and leadership from top management will be needed during difficult economic times.

'While companies may need to take immediate measures in response to the crisis, they also need to carefully manage the long-term implications of these measures,' he added.

Assoc Prof Mak will also be speaking at the one-day Careers@Singapore forum Saturday at the Singapore Marriott Hotel.

The forum is organised by accounting body CPA Australia and will examine the employment market.

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2,000 throng job fair | Jorbb.com

SOME 2,000 people turned up to vie for 200 jobs up for grabs at a new ultra-luxury hotel at Sentosa on Friday.

The Capella is due to open on March 8 and has started a two-day walk-in recruitment drive for managerial and rank-and-file vacancies.

The drive was jointly organised by the Singapore Work Development Agency (WDA) and The Capella.

Among those seeking jobs were freelance workers, those looking for a career switch, and retrenched workers.

Mr Salim Bin Sajimin, 50, said: 'In Singapore, we really need to work till we say bye-bye. We don't have a backyard, cannot do gardening, so the only thing we need to do is work.'

Mr Salim, a technician with a maintenance firm, was retrenched late last year.

While most like him were trying their luck in the hotel industry, there were some who had been waiting for an opportunity to work in the hotel line.

Said Filipino Ms Emie Andanar who hopes to join the hotel as a Guest Relations Officer: 'I tried earlier, but there was no vacancy in August or September. The quota was filled up.'

The huge turnout surprised the hotel management.

'With the present situation, people are looking for jobs, so we anticipated many. But this is more than we expected,' said Mr Michael Luible, General Manager of The Capella.

Those who were interviewed at the drive will know if they have been shortlisted in about three weeks.

Selected hopefuls will move on to the next round of interviews.

Looking at the big turnout, Mr Jimmy Teo Choo Siong, 60, said: 'I don't think I will get a job, so many people. Old already, hard to get job.'

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Elder Singaporeans asked to work longer | Jorbb.com

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong Thursday calls on Singaporeans to work as long as they can and keep themselves occupied after formal retirement to adjust to longer lifespan.

The prime minister said in a conference on reinventing retirement that because a larger proportion of the country's population will be elderly, people will have to re-calibrate the balance of work and retirement.

"People today are healthier and the nature of work has changed. We can continue to lead active and useful lives well into our old age," he said.

He said that demographic trends will require people to make adjustments both as individuals and as a society.

Individuals will have to rethink what retirement means to them, and the society will have to develop new arrangements to enable every individual to enjoy a productive, dignified life into his senior years.

The prime minister said that Singapore is going for a more flexible and practical approach, "We are legislating not to further delay the retirement age, but to require employers to offer re-employment to workers at 62 for another three years until65, though not necessarily in the same job or at the same pay," he said.

Lee said the employment rate of Singaporean workers aged 55 to 64 has risen steadily, and the government aims to push it up from 57 percent in 2008 to 65 percent by 2012.

By 2030, one fifth of Singapore's population will be 65 years and older, which is nearly one million people, three times the number today.

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Only 30% of S'poreans think they'll lose their job | Jorbb.com

TNS and Gallup International have just released the results of the survey, "The Voice of the People End of the Year Survey" today.

The survey polled people across 46 countries between October and December 2008 about their employment prospects. In Asia Pacific, more than 11,000 people aged between 15 and 64 participated in the survey and of these, 1,000 came from Singapore.

The Singapore results showed that 78% expect unemployment to increase, however, only 30% think there is a chance they may lose their job. The survey results also showed that Singaporeans are generally less optimistic as compared to the respondents globally about the economic outlook.

I. 63% feel more negative about the economic outlook as compared to a global average of 35%

II. Only 17% believe they would be able to find a new job fairly quickly while the global average stands at 31%.

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Contract workers are the first to go | Jorbb.com

Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, highlighted the plight of contract and part-time workers two Saturdays ago, when he pointed out that Singapore can expect this pool of employees to swell in the economic downturn.

The trend worries him as these workers rarely receive social security coverage, such as medical benefits and contributions to Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts. He has urged the National Wages Council to study the issue.

The number of contract workers has been rising steadily. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said there were 189,100 such workers last year, up from 180,200 in 2007 and 172,000 in 2006.

MOM defines contract workers as those who work part-time, full-time and on ad-hoc projects that last a few months.

They tend to be low-skilled, low-wage workers who are usually of low education and aged above 45. They work as cleaners, hawker assistants, packers and factory line operators, among other things, and earn between $500 and $1,200 a month.

Increasingly, however, more employees are being hired at the professional, managerial, executive and technical level on a contract basis. Some are hired for projects in the information technology (IT), research and banking sectors.

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Survey shows most firms still hiring fresh graduates | Jorbb.com

Thousands of fresh graduates are expected to enter the Singapore job market this year, flooding a labour pool that is seeing more retrenchments. Industries that are still hiring include accounting, engineering and sales.

Josh Goh, senior manager, Corporate Communications, The GMP Group, said: "The situation has changed. Fresh grads need to prepare themselves. They need to dress appropriately; they need to portray a very enthusiastic, willing-to-learn attitude."

Recruitment agencies said preparation, experience and presentation will help give applicants a winning edge, so internship and knowledge of company and job matter.

One also has to be prepared to accept a salary range that is on average about 5 to 15 per cent lower than last year.

Despite widespread hiring freezes, a recent survey of some 120 firms by the National University of Singapore (NUS) showed that 90 per cent of these companies will take in fresh graduates. The survey covered industries such as manufacturing, finance, transport and the public sector.

The Singapore Management University (SMU) said some students are delaying their graduation to explore more internships. More have also gone to career services centres for advice, especially those who are hoping to find a job in banking or finance.

Universities, in turn, have revved up their outreach activities.

Loh Pui Wah, director, Career and Attachment Office, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), said: "We are approaching companies such as new and emerging industries that traditionally do not hire fresh graduates. We are also targeting the SMEs, so we are aggressively going out to them to discuss employment opportunities and inviting them to NTU."

Some students, however, remain unfazed about the challenges ahead. Economics major Lim Wensi, who is graduating from SMU in July, is feeling upbeat about getting a job in the tourism sector.

He said: "I'm not overly anxious about not getting a job because I feel there are still jobs out there, especially in the tourism industry. I'm also prepared to do contract work, part-time work during this time until the economy picks up. Well, the back-up plan would be to go overseas to do a Masters."

Observers said contract work can build up crucial job experience until a permanent position comes along.


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Help for retrenched workers | Jorbb.com

THE South West Community Development Council (CDC) has rolled out a series of aid schemes to help retrenched workers living in the south-western parts of Singapore.

A key feature of these new schemes is that the lower-middle class, and not only the bottom 20 per cent of society, can qualify for help.

Retrenched workers whose monthly household income are below $2,500, and are assessed to be in need of help, are eligible for the CDC's Interim Coping Package for Economic Downturn (iCope).

Among the new help schemes are a one-off $50 transport grant for axed workers to hunt for a job, workshops to help this group of workers get back on their feet and an internship programme for workers to try out a different job.

These workers are also eligible for existing help schemes by the South-West CDC, such as utilities vouchers and provision of food rations.

The CDC also intends to double the number of job fairs it organises from three to six a month.

It expects to spend $1.5 million next year for the iCope programmes.

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More part-time, contract staff | Jorbb.com

WITH the economic downturn, Singapore can expect the pool of part-time and contract workers to swell.

The trend worries Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, because these workers rarely receive social security coverage such as medical benefits and contributions to their Central Provident Fund (CPF) accounts.

Singapore needs to address this problem, he said yesterday, suggesting that the National Wages Council (NWC) study the issue over the next two years.

His call comes as the NWC, prompted by the worsening economic crisis, prepares to reconvene next month to revise wage guidelines set this May.

Mr Lim warned that 'if we do not establish a national consensus on their terms of employment', Singapore could face a situation similar to that in Japan in the 1990s, when the number of these disadvantaged workers rose.

The former labour chief drew the comparison at a dinner to mark the 40th anniversary of electronics manufacturer Singapore Epson Industrial. He lauded the Japanese manufacturer, which has more than 800 employees here, as a socially responsible employer for treating its contract workers in the same manner as employees on its permanent payroll.

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Retail rents expected to fall in 2009 | Jorbb.com

Retailers likely to be cautious in expansion, rents may undergo corrections to reflect the gloomy outlook

RENTS for prime retail space in Orchard Road could fall by as much as 13 per cent in 2009, while rentals at suburban malls are expected to ease by about 3 per cent, property analysts here said.

Cuts in consumer spending will be the key threat to rental rates. But rents will also come under pressure from the 3.2 million square feet of new retail space expected to come onstream next year - close to half of which will be along Orchard Road.

A poll of property analysts here showed that they expect prime retail rents to fall by anywhere between 5 and 13 per cent next year. But malls in the suburbs, where people go to buy their neccessities, are expected to fare better. Predictions for suburban rental growth range from ‘holding steady’ to a decline of up to 7 per cent. The consensus view is a fall of about 3 per cent.

By contrast, so far in 2008, prime Orchard Road rents fell 0.8 per cent year-on-year, while prime suburban rents rose one per cent, data from CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) shows.

Consumers are expected to cut back on spending on concerns of job and wage security, which will hit the sales of retailers, analysts said. Tourist arrivals are also expected to fall, which will depress sales further.

‘A prolonged depression in consumer spending could affect retailers’ ability to service their rents and we think it is possible that more retailers would renegotiate for lower rental rates, and retail mall managers may have to give in to avoid a high turnover in tenants,’ noted OCBC Investment Research analysts Foo Sze Ming and Meenal Kumar in a report.

Echoed Knight Frank: ‘Retailers will be more cautious in expanding their businesses and retail rents are likely to undergo corrections to reflect the gloomy outlook.’

In addition, more space is due to come onstream - some 5.7 million sq ft in the next two years. Of this, 20-30 per cent will be located along the Orchard Road belt. Another 21 per cent will come from the Marina Bay Sands resort. Some of the major retail supply due to be completed next year include Ion Orchard, The Marina Bay Sands Shoppes, Orchard Central, 313@Somerset and City Square Mall.

But in spite of all the new space, analysts here remain confident that the healthy take-up of retail space seen so far is likely to keep vacancy rates under control and prevent sharp rental declines caused by oversupply.

Most of the major upcoming malls - such as Ion Orchard, Orchard Central, Mandarin Gallery, 313@Somerset and Marina Bay Shoppes - have reportedly achieved pre-commitment rates of between 50 per cent and 70 per cent, said Colliers’ director for research and advisory Tay Huey Ying. And there should be interest for the remaining retail space, she said. The Orchard Road malls will ‘probably be the only new retail malls the market is likely to see on this prime stretch for a while’ and the Marina Bay Shoppes ’should also be sought after as the locality would be a new icon for Singapore’, Ms Tay said. ‘The challenge, therefore, is really in structuring a rental package that is win-win for both landlord and retailer in an increasingly trying time,’ she added.

Other analysts agreed, saying that the onus will be on landlords in 2009.

‘Prime properties will still be able to attract tenants, but developers must be more flexible with rental expectations,’ said Anna Lee, DTZ’s associate director for retail. ‘As consumers hold their purses tighter, landlords would have to spend more on advertising and promotion to entice more consumer traffic to their malls and translate that into spending.’ And to mitigate lower sales faced by their tenants, some landlords may offer rental rebates and lower turnover rents, she added.

Analysts also said that capital values are expected to remain steady in the retail sector. ‘Of note is that the retail sector remains defensive even during the Asian Crisis period, with rental rates and capital values remaining fairly stable during this period. Hence, we believe that a fair cap rate for the retail sector would remain in the 5-6 per cent range,’ said DBS Group Research analysts Mun Yee Lock and Derek Tan.

Source : Business Times - 27 Dec 2008

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Employers & workers brace for sharp downturn in first half of 2009 | Jorbb.com

Singapore's economy started on a high note in 2008.

That was until September, when the downslide began, with economic growth now expected to come in slightly below the government's earlier forecast of 2.5 per cent.

And the worse is not deemed to be over yet, as employers and workers alike brace themselves for an even sharper economic downturn in the next few months.

Said Stephen Lee, President of the Singapore National Employers Federation: "The storm is coming, we haven't seen the bottom of the storm yet. How bad it will get, we would like to prepare our members.”

Economists said that as the cause is a financial one, it is tough to predict the downturn's length and depth.

Said Heng Chee How, Deputy Secretary-General of NTUC: "It is no point trying to guess a number. I think what is more productive is what we (should) do to keep retrenchments and the unemployment rate to as slow a pace as possible, so that if we can avoid, we avoid… if we cannot avoid, we delay… and if we cannot delay, we minimise - that should be the way to do it.”

To help achieve this, the Singapore government in December launched the S$600 million Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR).

Under SPUR, companies with excess manpower are being urged to send their workers for subsidised retraining.

The Workforce Development Agency (WDA) said it wants to see the programme even more widely implemented across more sectors in 2009.

Said Chan Heng Kee, Chief Executive of WDA: “Where necessary, we will put in place what we call conversion programmes. Because moving from one sector to another is not easy. So we have conversion programmes encompassing the skills needed to move into new sectors.

“Rather than retrenching the worker on the first resort, why not take advantage of the financial support provided by the government so that by the time the upturn comes around, you have a loyal worker who is also better trained, more productive, and can do a higher skilled job for your company.”

Among those targeted for such conversion programmes are displaced mid-career workers.

Chan added: "Even as we help both employers and workers manage the current downturn, I think we are also not losing sight of the future, we are slowly putting in place the building blocks of the continuing education and training system.”

Employers and workers in Singapore will be looking forward to some key announcements in January 2009.

First, the National Wages Council, which is made up of representatives from the government, employers and trade unions, will be meeting in January to re-examine its wage guidelines to ensure that the country remains economically competitive even during these difficult times.

Next, Singapore's Parliament has brought forward its Budget sitting to take place from the usual February to January 22.

In Budget 2009, the labour movement hopes the Finance Minister will announce measures to help workers strengthen job stability while the employers federation is looking at help from the government to lower operational costs.

"Singapore, being a very small open economy will get hit harder than our Asean neighbours,” said Lee. “But Singapore, with its strong balance sheet will be able to (weather) this downturn better than our neighbours."

For 2009, the Trade and Industry Ministry's growth forecast for Singapore is in the range of minus one to plus two per cent.

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Retrenched workers can apply for jobs in Johor | Jorbb.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian workers retrenched from factories in Singapore can apply for jobs in Johor, Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said.

He said the ministry had set up an operations room in Johor Baru to register those retrenched and help match them with jobs available in Johor. There were at least 12,000 job vacancies in Johor Baru presently.

During a meeting with the labour attache from Singapore attended by employer and employee representatives in Johor last week, he said there was no indication that a large number of Malaysians retrenched in Singa-pore would return here.

“So, it is only an anticipation. They think it might happen,” he told reporters after attending the Young Indian Entrepreneurs Award 2008 here last night.

On the fate of 1,500 workers laid off by American hard-disk manufacturer Western Digital which had ceased operations in Sarawak, he said the company had already issued notices to workers about the impending retrenchment.

He said ministry officials had been in discussion with the factory and the company had offered the workers to be transferred to its factories in peninsular Malaysia.

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Student part-timers in demand | Jorbb.com

WANTED: Work - any work - and willing to clock longer hours on the job.

That is the calling card of this year's batch of young applicants looking for year-end jobs, including those waiting for their O- and A-level results and undergraduates on holiday.

Despite more of them hoping to land positions in a bid to help out family finances in the downturn, they are in luck.

A check with employers and temping agencies shows bosses favouring the hiring of part-time rather than full-time staff.

Mr Tay Kok Choon, country manager of JobStreet Singapore jobseeking service, said recruitment of full-time staff has almost come to a standstill.

For firms whose business depends on seasonal demand, it is natural to hire 'part-time staff first before engaging them full-time', he said.

He said that the number of jobs available has remained stable but he has seen a two-fold increase in students registering for work and internships this year.

Ms Annie Yap, chief executive officer of recruitment firm GMP Group, said the retail and food and beverage sectors, as well as packing and gift-wrapping firms, are a big source of part-time jobs at the year end. This is always the case during the festive period.

Human resource companies said pay has not fallen despite the recession, with many employers offering a standard rate of $5 to $6 an hour.

Gloria Chiang, 16, who is waiting for her O-level results, recently found a job selling clothes for 10 hours a day over five days in a trade fair at the Singapore Expo.

'Everyone's rushing to find jobs but it seems more companies are also eager to hire part-timers, so it was quite easy to get a job,' she said.

One company, Dairy Farm, which runs Cold Storage and Guardian pharmacy among other businesses, has taken in more than 300 part-timers - including students - to work as sales assistants, cashiers and order-takers.

The Singapore Zoo is also hiring more part-time staff. There are now around 700 students working in all three Wildlife Reserves Singapore parks - Jurong BirdPark, Night Safari and the zoo.

Youth interviewed said earning money is their top priority.

'It was really important to find a job because the economy is so bad. I'm trying to work longer hours,' said Secondary 3 student Sean Ng, 17.

Logging nine-hour workdays since last month as a waiter at BBQ Chicken restaurant in West Coast Plaza, he can earn up to $50 a day. His mother is unemployed and gets a monthly allowance of $300 from her former husband.

Also aiming to be more self-reliant is Johan Burhanuddin, 16, a barista at Tully's Coffee in Far East Square.

The teen, who is waiting for his O-level results, can earn about $49 a day doing nine-hour shifts. He gives up to 40 per cent of his pay to his single-parent mother who is a section leader at Cold Storage.

He also gives his nine-year-old sister some money and is saving some for his education as he hopes to study in a polytechnic.

Employers have noted the desire of these young workers to do more.

At Spinelli Coffee Company, which has about 24 part-timers working this school holiday, a spokesman said: 'In general, students seem more willing to work longer hours and make more money.'

Over at Genesis BBQ, which runs the BBQ Chicken restaurant chain, chief operating officer Benny Ng said: 'We have had students asking for jobs as early as September. In the past, on average, they worked six hours, three days a week. This year, most are willing to work as long as eight hours, five days a week.'

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North East CDC sees 25% spike in number of walk-ins looking for jobs | Jorbb.com

The North East Community Development Council (CDC) has seen a 25 per cent spike last month in the number of daily walk-ins of people looking for job opportunities.

Unlike the past, there is a significant number of professionals, managers and executives who are also seeking help.

Although not all of them have lost their jobs, some fear they may, and are thus looking for options.

It was not surprisingly then, that organisers saw a large turnout of some 2000 people at a mega career fair held at Downtown East on Tuesday.

And about half of the turnout had shown up in the first two and a half hours.

The fair had more than 800 jobs offered by 12 employers in the service industry, ranging from hotels, spas, F&B to security -- sectors which are still hiring despite the current economic downturn.

Training courses were also available for sign-up at the career fair.

Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean, who is also a Member of Parliament for the Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, said such help measures will continue.

He said: “The North East CDC, besides this job fair in December, is having two more in the first quarter of next year. But you don't have to wait -- they have job placement services and they do have a register of jobs they can refer people to."

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Contract jobs becoming a trend: survey | Jorbb.com

THE job market today may be tough if you're looking for full-time work, but a contract position could well be your next best option amid the current economic downturn.

According to a new survey by global recruiter Robert Half International, just over one in two Singapore companies (52 per cent) said that they saw senior-level contract finance professionals as a viable staffing solution in a slowing economy - the highest rate among the 17 countries polled.

Nearly nine in 10 (88 per cent) said that they were open to hiring such professionals, well ahead of countries such as the United Kingdom (68 per cent), Australia (64 per cent) and Japan (29 per cent). 49 per cent of Singapore firms also said that they saw this trend of hiring contract staff increasing in the near future.

According to Robert Half Singapore's managing director Tim Hird, these latest findings in the Global Workplace Survey 2008 also revealed that companies want to bring in contract staff 'for specific projects or peak activity periods, making their engagement a variable rather than a fixed cost'.

He added that there has been a rise in demand for contract professionals in the past few months, as payroll costs account for about 40 per cent of a company's fixed costs, causing many bosses to be cautious about increasing their permanent headcount.

When asked why they felt contract professionals were becoming increasingly popular to recruit, Singapore companies cited reasons such as the ability to gain access to specialised skills, and a growing need to be more cost-efficient during the slowdown.

Said Mr Hird: 'Companies that hire senior-level contract finance professionals obtain immediate access to specialist skills and experience, which is especially critical for strategic turnkey projects. Companies can benefit from the added objectivity these consultants bring to their projects, as well as more effectively manage their costs.'

This is the first time Singapore has been included in Robert Half's global workplace survey since it was first launched in 2004. In all, nearly 5,000 finance and human resources were polled in countries, including France, Switzerland and New Zealand.

Among the companies in Singapore that have benefited from hiring a senior contract finance professional is IMS Health Asia, a business intelligence provider for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

The company had an urgent need to fill a position for one of its projects for a short term, and preferred not to hire a permanent employee due to the timeline and the one-off nature of the project.

Said IMS Health's director and finance leader Leigh Jason: 'It made sense to engage a senior-level contract professional for this particular project. Utilising this targeted approach, we were able to plug the resource into the project with minimal ramp-up time and realised immediate productivity.'

This article was first published in The Business Times on December 11, 2008.

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Singapore seen emerging Asia's weakest economy | Jorbb.com

Singapore is poised to be emerging Asia's worst-performing economy next year, when it is likely to remain entrenched in recession as the global downturn erodes demand for its exports, a Reuters poll shows.

The poll predicts the island state's gross domestic product (GDP) will contract 1.1 percent in 2009. That marks a rapid deterioration in the economic environment from two months ago as the global financial crisis has deepened - a similar poll in late September forecast 4.6 percent GDP growth in 2009.

"Singapore is particularly open to external trade - its export-to-GDP ratio is more than 180 percent, compared with an Asia average of 60-70 percent," said Eric Tsang, an analyst at Calyon in Hong Kong.

"So as U.S., European and Japanese consumers spend less that will hurt Singapore's exports and have a knock-on effect on the rest of the economy."

Economists see some rebound in 2010, forecasting 4.2 percent growth, but that would be well below average annual growth of 6.8 percent between 2003 and 2007.

Singapore slipped into recession - defined as two quarters of negative quarterly growth - in the third quarter.

Philip McNicholas, an economist at Ideal Global in Singapore, said the first quarter of next year would be especially tough - he forecasts GDP will drop at an annualised rate of 15 percent, seasonally adjusted, as exports plunge.

"That will be mainly due to a collapse in U.S. sentiment," McNicholas said. "The U.S. plans a fiscal stimulus package early next year, but it's got to get that through Congress and to the people, so that may not be until the end of Q1 or the start of Q2."

The government pledged $1.5 billion last month to help firms secure credit and said it was prepared to run a bigger budget deficit to boost the economy.

Manufacturing accounts for about a quarter of the economy and factory output fell 12.7 percent in October from September, seasonally adjusted, and 12.6 percent from a year earlier, led by sliding electronics and drugs output.

Manufacturing is expected to be harder hit next year as the downturn in advanced economies accelerates and job losses in the sector will rise as a result, analysts say.

Rising unemployment will dent consumer spending, which is not being helped by a decline in tourism since August.

As the weak economy will encourage the authorities to keep monetary policy loose, the Singapore dollar is likely to remain sluggish, the poll forecast.

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88% of Singapore firms willing to hire contract professionals

88 per cent of companies in Singapore are open to the idea of hiring senior contract finance professionals, according to a survey by global human resource consultancy, Robert Half International.

With manpower costs accounting for about 40 per cent of a company's total expenses, the firms see this as a viable alternative to optimise human resource costs amid the current economic downturn.

In comparison, only 29 per cent of companies in Japan, 64 per cent in Australia and 68 per cent in Britain will consider hiring such specialists.

The survey also showed that 48 per cent of the Singapore companies polled said hiring contract finance professionals would allow the firms to gain access to specialised skills.

Six in 10 local companies said they would hire these contract staff for their expertise in strategic projects, while 34 per cent of the companies needed them for support on core business activities.

52 per cent of local companies considered short-term hire as a staffing solution to the slowing economy.

Nearly half of those polled said they expected the trend of hiring contract professionals to increase going forward.

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Employment Rises To 77% Despite Downturn

Singapore's employment rose 2.7% to a 17-year high of 77% between June 2007 - 2008 despite the economic slowdown. This was due to more females and older workers joining the workforce.

70.4% of women aged 25 - 54 years work now compared to 69% a year ago, while employment of older workers aged 55 - 64 years increased by 1% to 57.2%.

Most new jobs created were in the Professional, Managerial, Executive and Technician (PMET) positions, especially in services.

However unemployment also rose to 3.3% in September 2008 compared to 2.4% last December with less staff hired in:

• wholesale and retail trade
• information and communications
• financial services
• administrative and support services

Sources:

• "Singapore Workforce, 2008", Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Press Release, 28 November 2008
  
  
• "2008 employment growth tempered by rising unemployment", Channel NewsAsia, 28 November 2008
  
  
• "Resident jobless rate in September put at 3.3%", The Business Times, 29 November 2008
  
  
• "Women lift employment rates to 17-year high", The Straits Times, 29 November 2008

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Bittersweet holidays for laid-off overseas Filipinos

Many overseas Filipino workers are coming home for the holidays, but it's going to be a bittersweet Christmas for most of them.

Melanie Dator is one of 1,500 overseas Filipino workers from Taiwan who had been laid off after their semi-conductor company shut down last month.

She said: "I am happy to finally see my family this Christmas. But I am sad that my job, which was supposed to be extended, suddenly ended."

The government fears that as many as 50,000 overseas Filipino workers could lose their jobs next year, due to the global financial crisis.

Marianito Roque, secretary, Department of Labour and Employment, said: "There are about half a million workers in totality in these areas, which include Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. We foresee that about 10 per cent of them may eventually be encountering situations of pre-terminated contracts."

Despite the huge number of displaced workers who are coming home this December, the Department of Labour said there is still no cause for worry as there are more Filipinos that are being deployed abroad, compared to those who have lost their jobs.

The government is still processing as many as 3,000 contracts a day for job placements in the Middle East and Europe.

"I was in the UK just about a week ago and there was news that more than 3,000 locals have already lost their jobs. In spite of that scenario, there was a sudden job opportunity and approval for the entry of 160 Filipino nurses. Given all these grim scenarios, there's still that glimmer (of hope) that Filipino workers will be in need, their services will be required," said Roque.

Last year, 9 million overseas Filipino workers sent home US$14.5 billion. That is equivalent to almost 13 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

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Sports events bring gains

THE sports industry in Singapore has crossed the billion-dollar mark for the first time, with positive spin-offs for the economy set to increase even further in the coming years.

The inaugural Formula One night race in September made a significant contribution, pumping an estimated $100 million into the Republic's economy.

The latest official number available for sports industry value was the 2006 figure of $906 million. With the same slate of events this year, adding the contribution from F1 would take this year's figure past the billion-dollar mark.

While Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Community Development, Youth and Sports) Teo Ser Luck expects the economic downturn to put a dent in growth in the next two to three years, he remained bullish in his outlook.

He was confident that the industry would still meet the target of contributing $2 billion to Singapore's gross domestic product by 2015 and bring employment in that sector to 20,000, up from the current 14,000.

He said: 'With a concerted effort, I think we can still achieve the 2015 target.'

The $2 billion target was made earlier this year and was a revision of the $1.4 billion-a-year mark announced in 2001 by then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong.

Much of the growth - from a sector worth about $680 million in 2001 - came via spin-offs from a flurry of marquee events staged here the last few years.

The Aviva Ironman 70.3 triathlon and a leg of swimming's Fina Arena World Cup were among high-profile events which made their debut here last year, boosting a local calendar which already had highlights like golf's Barclays Singapore Open and the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.

Along with F1, Singapore hosted golf's HSBC Women's Champions tournament for the first time this year as well.

Hotel accommodation for visitors, food and beverage spending and the construction of facilities such as spectator stands are some of the spin-offs from hosting such high-profile events.

Other events lined up are the Men's Junior Hockey World Cup and Asian Youth Games next year, the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and the 2011 World Netball Championship.

Mr Teo said: 'In this downturn, sports could also help create jobs. The YOG has added about 200 jobs for example, with more to come as we get closer to the event.'

When it is ready in about three years, the private-sector driven Sports Hub at Kallang and motorsports track at Changi will also provide big boosts.

Twenty20 cricket matches and an Asean club football league are set to be held at the Sports Hub, while the permanent track is slated to host at least two international-level races such as the A1 Grand Prix or World Touring Car Championship.

Also contributing to the industry's growth, according to Singapore Sports Council (SSC) chief executive Oon Jin Teik, is a flush of corporate sponsorship.

OCBC Bank recently pumped in $1 million to be the title sponsor for next year's Cycle Singapore.

POSB Bank spent $1.4 million on the ongoing Everyday Champions Award, while Barclays is understood to be spending about $2 million annually for its sponsorship of the Singapore Open.

Sport's growth here mirrors a worldwide trend. A Pricewaterhouse Coopers study estimates that the global sports market would grow from 2004's US$82.8 billion (S$125 billion) to US$111.1 billion next year.

But sports still remains a small contributor to Singapore's $243 billion GDP, with tourism contributing about 3 per cent and the biomedical sector (including pharmaceuticals) chipping in with about 5.5 per cent.

Still, it is not just the dollars and cents from the sports industry that is valuable.

Standard Chartered economist Alvin Liew said: 'The local economy is worth over $200 billion, so sports is less than half a per cent of that.

'But the...reputation and goodwill we build up for hosting international events...there's a lot more indirect impact.'

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Companies introduce various measures to help save jobs

The economic downturn has led some firms in the region to retrench staff in a bid to cut costs. But others are trying other measures to preserve jobs while surviving the current difficult climate.

Shipping firm "K" Line is encouraging employees to attend courses in areas such as Information Technology and Accounting while business is slow. The company is also sponsoring up to 70 per cent of their course fees.

Furthermore, "K" Line is sending about 16 employees for training on board its container vessels next year – double the number this year.

Kenichi Kuroya, managing director, "K" Line Pte Ltd, said: "We do not want to see the loss of human resources which we interpret as a kind of loss of culture for the company... It takes a long time to establish relations with the staff.

"The vessel fleet is expanding which would automatically link to the expansion of the business, requiring more human resource power. Based on those commitment or purchase contracts, we will maintain job opportunities and increase a certain number of jobs needed by our company."

Chemical firms are seeing slower orders and contracts as well.

Rajendran Govindarajoo, president of the Chemical Industries Employees' Union, said: "If they don't do anything, the company will be losing a lot, a lot of money. Salaries in Singapore are pretty high, if they can't afford it and they close down, they'll move back to their own countries."

Some firms are also considering measures such as temporarily shutting down plants for maintenance.

By executing various measures during this downturn, unionists and employers hope this will show parent companies of multinational corporations that Singapore is determined to save jobs.

Nonetheless, if foreign parent firms still insist on retrenching, it is hoped that their Singapore offices will be their last choice for downsizing.

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S'poreans' top worry - jobs

HAVING a rice bowl - and eating from it - matters most to Singaporeans.

A new survey has found that even before Singapore announced it was in a technical recession in October, Singaporeans' greatest fears were unemployment and insufficient food.

Synovate, a global market research company, surveyed the consumer attitudes of 7,400 respondents in 10 countries, between the months of August and November.

The firm found that four out of 10 Singaporeans listed 'losing my job' as their top fear going into a recession.

Their second biggest fear was not having enough food.

Indeed, when asked which items they would first give up when tightening their belts, none of those surveyed said they would cut back on food.

Nearly three out of 10 Singaporeans said holidays would be the first to go. Next on the list was branded items - which 18 per cent of respondents said they would cut out first - while 13 per cent would forgo high-tech gadgets.

Companies across all sectors are retrenching staff. The latest figures show that the resident unemployment rate in Singapore is at 3.3 per cent, up from 3.1 per cent in the previous quarter.

US private employers cut 250,000 jobs in November, an unexpectedly large number and the biggest in seven years, while the service sector, which powers most of the economy, posted its worst slump on record. Wednesday's reports were the latest signs that the slide in the US job market is nowhere near bottom and suggested Friday's government payrolls report could exceed current expectations for 320,000 job losses in November.

Companies are cutting jobs at breakneck speed, with Credit Suisse, Nomura Holdings, State Street Corp and Canon Inc announcing job cuts totalling almost 10,000 on Wednesday.

Clearly, the fear of losing one's rice bowl is not unique to Singaporeans.

Respondents in six out of the 10 countries - including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Russia - surveyed also said that was their biggest fear.

Being unable to pay mortgage or rent was Americans' top fear, followed by the fear of losing their jobs.

Among the responses from those surveyed in other countries included the fear of losing money from investments.

In shopping capital Hong Kong, however, 14 per cent of respondents said they were afraid of 'giving up luxuries.'

Meanwhile, 56 per cent of Singaporeans surveyed said they have spent less on luxury goods in the last six months.

They have also cut down in impulse buying - and even necessities.

Marketers said even in tough times, brands need to continue to invest in ensuring they remain visible to consumers.

Mr David Mayo, vice president of Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Asia Pacific, said: 'The people who will benefit are those who can deliver and provide an all-encompassing customer experience.'

'A recession is the point to pick up new customers. And coming out of a recession is when you make them loyal customers,' he added.

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Grads face up to fading job prospects

Thanks to the global financial crisis, university students - especially those due to graduate next year - are fast coming to terms with the rising difficulty in landing their ideal job.

Companies are still recruiting from campuses but compared with the heady days of 2006 and early 2007, the number and range of jobs available are taking a hit.

This has led to many students coming up with a Plan B - such as staying in school to pursue a Master's degree while waiting for the job market to recover.

According to the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), companies which ran campus recruitment drives in the past have returned this year. These include major banks and financial institutions.

However, there has been a 'reduced number of placements' and the 'types of roles available have changed,' said director of NTU's undergraduate career services, Joyce Seidl-Tan. As the financial crisis unfolds, for instance, more risk management and other mid and back-office functions have opened up.

'Firms are still hiring but very selectively,' observed Jason Low, a 23-year-old accountancy student who is graduating from NTU next year.

The cautious mood contrasts with the bright hiring landscape one or two years ago. An NTU release in June said that nine out of 10 business school graduates last year found jobs before graduation and the top students earned between $8,000 and $15,000 monthly. Of the entire Class of 2007, about two-thirds received multiple job offers.

The continued volatility in financial markets could affect the situation further. While companies kept to their hiring plans for most of the year, 'it was only in October, when the economic volatility hit a peak, that recruiters took a wait-and-see approach to hiring,' said NUS Business School's director of career services, Joan Tay.

'The global financial and economic situation is still uncertain and the job market could decline in all sectors in the coming months,' said director of career services at the Singapore Management University (SMU), Ruth Chiang. 'Students may not receive multiple job offers now and have to be prepared to accept job offers as they come.'

The climate is putting a dampener on wage expectations. 'As employers are confronted with the need to adjust their cost base according to market conditions, salary levels for fresh graduates of 2009 are likely to be lower than the entry level salaries seen in 2007 and possibly in 2008,' said NTU's Mrs Seidl-Tan.

But there is a bright spot amid the gloom. SMU's Lee Kong Chian School of Business has noticed that the difficult employment market has made graduating students evaluate their future careers more carefully.

'The tough job market... can also be a catalyst to more unconventional career paths which may ultimately be more rewarding,' said Doris Sohmen-Pao, director of SMU's MBA programme.

As NTU's Mr Low put it: 'A lot of people say it's best to start out in a bear market because you get to ride the waves and learn a lot from that.'

Some students though, may prefer to pick up another degree and delay entering the workforce. NUS Business School final-year student Wang Fan, 22, has already applied to several local and overseas universities to pursue his Masters in financial engineering.

This is in the event that his attempts to land his 'ideal' job as a trader with one of the banks here draw a blank. Some banks have already imposed hiring freezes or are retrenching staff.

The school's vice-dean for undergraduate studies, Quek Ser Aik, said that about 20 graduating students have already expressed their wish to use the economic slowdown as an opportunity to further their studies instead of entering the job market.

He said: 'The crisis is surely a concern for our students and for us. We will certainly try our best to accommodate our students' requests should they want to stay on to further their studies.'

As for junior college or polytechnic students entering universities, the financial mayhem is unlikely to sway interest in finance-related degrees, said the local varsities.

'We believe that banking and finance remains a very desirable field to our students and those who are keen on this area would probably not be deterred,' said Valerie Du Toit-Low, associate dean of undergraduate business in NTU.

SMU's Mrs Sohmen-Pao also said that postgraduate programmes, such as those related to management and finance, would retain their market value with or without a financial crisis.

'Skills such as leadership, strategic management and finance will remain evergreen and relevant to any profit organisation across any industry. We are optimistic that subscription for postgraduate programmes will remain strong even while the market goes on the road to recovery'.

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Central CDC's survival guide helps residents through recession

Singaporeans can survive this recession by making small adjustments in their lifestyles and lending a helping hand to their neighbours.

To help achieve this, the Central Singapore Community Development Council (CDC) has launched a survival guide in October to give residents the tools and guidance to ride through the recession.

The guide has three main features, which include simple savings tips that can help cut down expenditure by up to S$1,330 a year, especially by saving electricity in several ways.

The guide also has information on how residents can land a job in new growth industries. It contains the numbers of important helplines for residents if they need information on jobs and financial assistance, or if they just want to talk to someone.

Central Singapore CDC will distribute the guide via its bi-monthly newsletter, "Voices", to all 280,000 households in its district by mid-December.

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Singaporeans welcome move by Civil Service to cut pay

Singaporeans welcomed the move by the Civil Service to reduce pay, and some said the wage cut announcement did not come as a surprise.

Civil Service wage cut may not be significant in terms of the overall government expenditure.

What is more important is the signal it sends to the private sector of the cost cutting options available for firms to stay viable.

In response, National Wages Council Chairman Professor Lim Pin said the Civil Service pay cut is in line with the council’s guidelines, and added that it’s not unexpected that bonus payments would be affected as a result of the business downturn.

Experts believe more measures will be announced in January’s Budget to help Singaporeans, as well as enhance the country’s competitiveness in the rough days ahead.

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Companies expected to spend less on IT in 2009

Companies are expected to spend less on information technology as they seek to cut costs amid the global economic slowdown.

IT consultancy group Gartner has lowered its forecast for growth in global IT spending from 5.8 per cent to as low as 2.3 per cent next year.

This is 5 percentage points lower than the growth forecast for this year.

However, IT spending is expected to pick up again in 2010, with Gartner forecasting global growth at 5.6 per cent.

Gartner recommends technologies such as virtualisation, which allow firms to combine different resources on to a single platform.

IT spending in the Asia Pacific region is expected to see one of the highest growth rates globally.

Gartner said emerging giants like China will remain a key investment location for many vendors.

But countries such as Vietnam, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines are also expected to ramp up their IT capabilities in the next few years.

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E2i to triple staff strength for implementation of SPUR

The Employment and Employability Institute (E2i) is tripling its staff strength to meet the challenges of the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR).

It is one of 42 Continuing Education and Training (CET) centres to benefit from the S$600 million set aside for the two-year programme.

E2i plans to boost its staff strength from the current 30 to 100 soon, in order to cater to the targeted 50,000 workers whom the labour movement wants to retrain.

The Community Development Councils (CDCs) also have an important role to play to ensure that employees benefit from SPUR. They could refer those who go to them for job assistance to the relevant CET centres for retraining.

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SPUR has more than 60 training pathways for workers

There will be more than 60 skills upgrading pathways for rank and file workers and professionals under the new SPUR initiative to help workers reskill for new jobs.

The government is concerned that the economic downturn will affect a growing number of professionals, managers, executives and technicians or PMETs.

So the latest initiative - Skills Programme for Upgrading & Resilience (SPUR) - is designed to help these workers acquire news skills for new jobs.

SPUR has spelt out clear career pathways for them. For example, if a manager is retrenched, he can approach the Employment and Employability Institute where he can choose from a list of upgrading pathways in growth sectors.

He will then undergo retraining for the new job. The trainee will receive a fee subsidy for the course and a training allowance.

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Govt gives S$2.3b in loans through enhanced business financing schemes

The government is giving an additional S$2.3 billion in loans to help local companies gain access to credit during the current economic slowdown.

Some 124,000 local firms are expected to benefit from various enhanced schemes when they take effect on December 1.

Loan Insurance Scheme (LIS) will be handy for companies if the economy gets worse. All companies can now apply for the scheme.

Previously, only smaller companies could qualify only if their group turnover was below a certain amount, which varied between listed and non-listed companies.

Among other measures announced is a new Bridging Loan Programme that gives companies credit of up to S$500,000 for working capital.

Small and medium-sized companies will continue to get loans under the Local Enterprise Financing scheme and the government will increase its loan default risk sharing from 50 to 80 per cent.

This is to ensure the financial institutions continue to lend to the small businesses.

Small businesses with fewer than 10 employees can now borrow up to S$100,000, double the amount before.

For start-ups, the government is raising the investment cap from the current S$300,000 to S$1 million under the Start-up Enterprise Development Scheme.

It will also temporarily increase the co-match ratio from the existing 1:1 ratio to 2:1 instead.

This means that start-ups will receive S$2 from the government for every one dollar an investor puts into the new firm.

And for companies expanding overseas, the government will widen the Internationalisation Finance Scheme.

Under the scheme, companies can, for example, now get financing to fund the expenses of secured projects overseas.

A listed trading company can now get S$200 million financing.

But that will be raised to S$300 million to increase the number of companies that qualify for the scheme.

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MOM to embark on two key strategies to help companies and workers

The Manpower Ministry is embarking on two strategies to help companies and workers deal with the economic downturn and invest in skills upgrading.

- a tripartite taskforce will be set up to help companies reduce manpower costs and for those retrenched, help them find jobs.

- Tripartite partners - comprising the Manpower Ministry, the Singapore National Employers' Federation and NTUC - strongly encourage companies to manage their excess manpower and consider retrenchments only as a last resort.

- Companies should redeploy workers to other areas of work and send excess manpower for skills upgrading and training, or adopt alternative arrangements like short work-week.

- Companies can also adopt a flexible wage system to manage wage costs or implement temporary layoffs.

- The MOM will release the revised Tripartite Guidelines on Managing Excess Manpower on Wednesday.

- Retrenched workers will also get help in finding new jobs and skills upgrading.

- The career centres at the Community Development Councils (CDCs) and NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) will provide career counselling, training support and job placements for the unemployed.

- Job seekers could be deployed to sectors which are still hiring and have strong growth prospects such as the retail industry. It is estimated that the industry will need at least several thousand retail workers once Ion Orchard, Orchard Central and the integrated resorts are open.

- MOM will be announcing more details on the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) later this week, which will provide small and medium enterprises with financing help and a new training programme for workers.

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Income Tax Act enhanced to better achieve economic and social objectives

The Income Tax Act has been amended and enhanced to better help Singapore achieve economic and social objectives.

- One key change is that the amounts of Child Relief and Handicapped Child Relief will be increased from next year.

- Qualifying Child Relief will be doubled to S$4,000. She said this will be extended to all qualifying children, beyond the fourth child. Handicapped Child Relief on the other hand will be raised by S$2,000 to S$5,500.

- Working mothers will also be able to claim up to 100 per cent of their earned income for all qualifying Singaporean children under the Working Mother's Child Relief. This includes the fifth child and beyond.

- The cap for the total amount claimable for all three relief schemes in respect of the same child has been doubled to S$50,000.

- As for the S$5,000 Parenthood Tax Rebate, it will be extended to the first child.

- Mrs Lim said that parents can also get S$20,000 for each child beyond the fourth one.

- Selected groups of taxpayers will be exempted from filing their income tax. This will not only benefit about 300,000 taxpayers, but help the government save on tax administration costs.

- Under the other amendment, General Partnerships and Limited Liability Partnerships will now enjoy tax incentives. They will enjoy specific tax incentives such as further reductions for research and development expenditure.

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Employment Act revised to bring law up to date with market changes

Changes were made to the Employment Act on Tuesday to bring the law up to date with significant changes to the labour market. The Act was last amended 13 years ago.

The face of Singapore's labour force has been changing. There are now more professionals and contract workers, and the services sector hires more than two-thirds of the workforce.

"Employment protection and benefits for certain groups of vulnerable workers need to be enhanced. Employment standards also need to be revised to better reflect employment norms while maintaining labour market flexibility," said Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong.

Among the major changes are:

- junior managers and executives earning less than S$2,500 will now be covered, and be able to settle salary claims through the Labour Court;
- paid public holidays and paid sick leave will be extended to all employees covered under the Act;
- part-time work will be redefined to include those who work less than 35 hours a week;
- penalties for flouting the Act, last revised 24 years ago, will be enhanced.

While the changes as long overdue, some MPs questioned the timing and impact on businesses' bottomlines, and others were concerned about possible exploitation.

Said Dr Lim Wee Kiak, MP for Sembawang GRC: "There are areas in the proposed amendments which I feel could have been introduced at a more opportune time than now, when businesses and industries are scrambling to keep themselves afloat."

"One concern that has surfaced is whether some employers will take advantage of the situation and start converting full time workers to part-time workers," said Madam Halimah Yaacob, MP for Jurong GRC.

Responding, Mr Gan said it's a balance between worker protection and market flexibility. He added that many changes are already industry norms and should not increase costs. - CNA /ls

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Singapore May Weaken Currency in Recession, UBS Says

Singapore, facing a slump in exports amid a recession, may change its exchange-rate policy to favor a weakening currency in April or sooner, according to UBS AG.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, after ending its policy of encouraging gains in the local dollar last month, may be open to depreciation to help revive the $161 billion economy, wrote Ashley Davies and Nizam Idris, currency strategists at the world's second-biggest foreign-exchange trader. The U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank have all cut interest rates to combat recessions.

``Following the aggressive policy moves elsewhere, it now seems unobjectionable for Singapore to ease monetary policy via a weaker currency,'' Davies and Nizam wrote in a research report yesterday. ``While our base case is for a change in policy at the next meeting in April, it could happen earlier should pressure on reserves mount.''

Singapore's dollar traded at S$1.5243 to the U.S. dollar as of 9:08 a.m. local time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It earlier touched S$1.5283, the lowest level since September 2007. The currency has declined 7.3 percent in the past three months.

It may drop to S$1.5400 in three months due to ``sustained dollar strength and persistently elevated global aversion,'' the Singapore-based strategists said.

Guiding Currency

Singapore's central bank conducts monetary policy by guiding the currency within an undisclosed band based on a weighted basket of major trading partners' currencies. Policy adjustments are made by adjusting the band.

The MAS, at its last meeting on Oct. 10, said it was shifting to a ``zero-percent appreciation'' stance as the economy slipped into a recession in the third quarter.

Overseas sales last month posted the biggest decline in more than six years as recessions in the world's biggest economies hurt demand for the electronic goods and medicines manufactured in the city. Non-oil exports slid 15 percent from a year earlier, after dropping 5.7 percent in September, the trade promotion agency said yesterday.

Singapore's recession will last about a year and it may take several years of slow growth before the economy returns to normal, the Straits Times reported yesterday, citing Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Shrinking Economy

Gross domestic product contracted an annualized 6.3 percent in the third quarter from the previous three months, after shrinking 5.7 percent between April and June, economists said in a Bloomberg survey before a government report on Nov. 21.

``One potential date being mentioned in the market for a policy change could be this Friday when the third quarter GDP numbers are finalized,'' Davies and Nizam wrote, adding ``the number could be revised lower.''

Singapore's central bank ``may be forced to move earlier than the April meeting,'' as defending the currency from a slide would drain local funds, ``which may not be desirable given falling asset prices and generally tight liquidity conditions,'' according to UBS.

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Sentosa IR to recruit 300 for theme park

Resorts World at Sentosa has launched its first major recruitment drive, and has moved to see if it can hire workers who have been retrenched, including those from DBS Bank.

The integrated resort (IR) has started to fill 300 fairly senior positions - 200 managers and 100 supervisors - to take charge of its 20ha Universal Studios theme park.

To attract applicants, it will dangle a special carrot: a chance to go to Universal Studios Orlando in the United States for a training stint that could last up to four months.

At the launch of the drive yesterday, the IR's head of human resources, Ms Seah-Khoo Ee Boon, said: 'Resorts World at Sentosa is open to working with organisations that may be undergoing restructuring, including banks.'

DBS confirmed that it is in talks with the resort.

Resorts World at Sentosa

Said a spokesman for the bank: 'It is our priority to help DBS staff with the transition. What's more, the bank has been in talks with companies in various industries with regard to outplacement and career opportunities just for them.'

The resort will not say how many local people and foreigners it will hire.

But Ms Seah-Khoo said: 'We have always promised and are committed to hire as many locals as possible.'

She conceded, however, that some of the 200 managerial positions on offer will have to be filled by foreigners, as there are few here who have experience in working at such attractions. The resort is currently in talks with people from overseas theme parks like Disneyland.

But she said that the rest will mostly be Singaporeans. Most of the 100 supervisors, she said, are likely to be Singaporeans, and they are the ones who will be sent for the Orlando training stint.

The positions on offer now include ride and show service managers, attraction supervisors and executive chefs.

When asked about starting salaries for the jobs, Ms Seah-Khoo declined to comment, citing 'competitive reasons'.

But she added that they would be 'commensurate' with market rates.

Among the first to be hired for Universal Studios Singapore was Ms Karen Lim. The 32-year-old had previously worked in Ducktours and looked after attractions in Sentosa Leisure Group.

She will be looking after admissions to the park for Resorts World at Sentosa.

She said: 'I was willing to take a pay cut just to be part of the team.'

Ms Karen Lim is hired at Universal Studios Singapore

Resorts World at Sentosa has also arranged for 100 students from Singapore Polytechnic, Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Nanyang Polytechnic and Temasek Polytechnic to be the first to get internships at the Universal Studios parks in the US.

This, the company said, is part of its promise to bring benefits to Singapore.

The recruitment drive for theme park workers is a prelude to a bigger campaign in June next year, when the resort, which opens in March 2010, will look to fill the bulk of the 10,000 positions available.

Ms Seah-Khoo said it is holding talks now with various government agencies on recruitment and training initiatives.

By the end of next year, Ms Seah-Khoo expects to increase the number of staff on the payroll to 8,000. The remaining 2,000 will be hired just before the resort's opening.

Singapore's two IRs are expected to generate some 20,000 jobs.

Response has been keen: Marina Bay Sands, which kicked off its hiring blitz late last month, has received more than 10,000 responses to date.

weichean@sph.com.sg

For more information on positions available at Resorts World at Sentosa, go to www.rwsentosa.com/en_careers.html

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Economic growth may dip below 4%

Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said yesterday that economic growth may dip below 4 per cent this year, even as global financial markets try to turn the corner.

Mr Lim also addressed how the United States financial fallout has hit - and could further affect - Singapore.

'The financial difficulties in the US have led to de-leveraging and credit contractions, therefore slowing global growth,' said the minister, who was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Latin Asia Business Forum 2008.

'That means more difficult export markets for Singapore companies and for our economy...later this year and going into next year.'

He added that he expects economic growth to be 'closer to 4 per cent, maybe even a bit below 4 per cent, depending on how the financial crisis pans out over the next few weeks and months'.

His forecast comes on the back of the Government's revision of its full-year forecast from 4 to 6 per cent previously to 4 to 5 per cent last month.

'We expect the economy to slow down - it's inevitable but we are confident...we are well-placed to ride this cycle,' said Mr Lim.

He said Singapore is 'as well-prepared for these difficulties as we can ever be' because of a well-diversified economy.

'We have our domestic economy to hold us up and we are also looking for other growth opportunities in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

'So we hope that with our exposures in different markets and diversification of different sectors...we will be able to ride through the difficulties.'

He also dismissed the notion that Singapore would slide into a technical recession - two consecutive quarters of negative growth. 'What is important for Singaporeans is whether we can keep the jobs going,' he said, adding that the Republic's 'very steady pipeline' of investments and different projects will keep generating jobs.

He also pointed to the possible benefits that could arise out of the ongoing financial system troubles: 'In every crisis, there will be opportunities but I wouldn't overplay the opportunities.

'Our first priority is to make sure we ride through this; that our ship is steady and that we continue to generate employment and Singaporeans are not too hard- pressed because of these difficulties.'

Mr Lim said that it was also fortunate for Singapore that China, India and the rest of South-east Asia are still 'holding up reasonably well'. 'And in Latin America, they are having fairly good growth at more than 5 per cent, so we should hitch on those opportunities there,' he added.

Working together with Singapore was one of the two key themes that dominated yesterday's main plenary discussion between government officials from Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Brazil, Chile, Panama and Mexico. The other was the strong desire of the delegates to emulate Singapore's success as a gateway to Asia.

'We have already signed 57 free trade agreements and 97 per cent of our exports flow to those countries,' said the Chilean Vice-Minister for Finance, Ms Maria Olivia Recart Herrera. 'So like Singapore in Asia, Chile can be an open door to Latin and South America.'

Panama's Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade, Mr Severo Sousa, agreed: 'Yes, we too are often referred to as the Singapore of Latin America and that's because with our Panama Canal, we are really the gateway to the Americas.'

Peru, the latest Latin American nation to sign a free trade deal with Singapore - after Panama - cited similarities between Singapore and Peru in terms of how easy it is to run a business. 'Like Singapore, we give the same treatment to both foreign and local businessmen so as to facilitate more opportunities,' said the nation's Foreign Commerce and Tourism Minister, Ms Mercedes Araoz Fernandez.

The comments struck a chord with Mr Lim: 'That's our job in Government: To provide these opportunities to as many Singaporean companies as possible, be it in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.'

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Employment Situation Worsens In Q3 2008

Singapore's employment situation worsened in Q3 2008 with the addition of 57,800 new jobs, compared to 71,400 last quarter and 58,600 in Q3 2007.

The export-driven manufacturing sector created only 4,900 jobs due to weaker external demand, compared to 10,000 in the March - June period.

Job growth in services dipped slightly to 36,200 from 38,300 in Q2 2008, while the booming construction sector added a modest 16,400 jobs compared to last quarter's record high of 22,400.

While unemployment remained unchanged at 2.2% after seasonal adjustments, the number of retrenched workers rose to 2,000 from 1,798 in the previous quarter, mostly from electronics manufacturing.

Sources:

• "Employment Situation in Third Quarter 2008", Ministry of Manpower (MOM) Press Release, 31 October 2008
  
  
• "57,800 jobs created in Singapore in third quarter", Channel NewsAsia, 31 October 2008
  
  
• "Manufacturing sector's outlook dims as external demand weakens", Channel NewsAsia, 31 October 2008
  
  
• "Unemployment rate holds steady amid signs of worsening crisis", The Business Times, 1 November 2008
  
  
• "Fewer jobs added as outlook darkens", The Straits Times, 1 November 2008
  
  
• "Weaker job market as employers turn cautious", The Straits Times, 4 November 2008

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CPF cuts not likely for now, says NTUC chief Lim Swee Say

Central Provident Fund (CPF) cuts is a last-resort measure to keep business costs down, said Labour chief Lim Swee Say in an exclusive interview on Monday.

He added that the Manpower Ministry (MOM) will soon announce measures to help existing and laid-off workers afford retraining programmes.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that the world economy will grow at about 2 per cent next year – more than half that of last year’s and worse than the growth levels in the last financial crisis in the late 1990s.

Twice-retrenched Roger Soh first lost his job in 1998 and had found it hard to find re-employment. Even his last job as a relocation consultant fell through when fewer expatriates were sent to Singapore.

The 53-year-old former forex trader is now an administrator at the Singapore Professionals and Executives Co-operative, earning one-eighth of his previous salary.

“I was looking for a job based on my experience and my background, but the job market is really tough. I’ve come to a point where I think I should change my mindset if something comes along. It’s good to just take the job and see how it goes from there,” Mr Soh said.

West Coast GRC MP Ho Geok Choo, who started the Singapore Professionals and Executives Co-operative in 2000 to help PMEBs find gainful employment, sees opportunities for this group of workers in the current crisis.

“We are going to see the emergence of what I call ‘the freelance economy’, made up of consultants, made up of sub-contractors, made up of outsource agents,” said Ms Ho.

Apart from venturing into freelancing, Mr Lim said tripartite partners are ready to ramp up their existing Employment and Employability Programme, including one that helps executives re-skill for a new industry.

“If he or she is prepared to go for retraining, prepared to adapt to a new working environment, there’s still hope for our retrenched workers to go back to the job market again.

“As we go through the recession, a growing number of workers will have to adapt themselves and maybe take on a different job with different pay,” said Mr Lim.

The National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) is working with the DBS Staff Union to help its retrenched staff find jobs through retraining. DBS recently announced that it would cut 900 jobs by the end of this month.

As for concerns about CPF cuts – a social security scheme to keep business costs down – Mr Lim said for now, this would likely not be implemented.

“Any talk about CPF cuts at this moment is way too premature because there are 1,001 things we can do to prepare ourselves, to strengthen ourselves to ride through this crisis,” he said.

Mr Lim also assured workers that tripartite partners will not be looking for easy solutions for companies, which may be painful for workers.


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Businesses to get help with cash-flow, costs in Budget 2009

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam has said next year's Budget will focus on helping businesses cope with the economic downturn.

Although he did not give details, Mr Tharman said companies will be given priority, as opposed to this year's Budget where families got help to cope with rising costs.

Mr Tharman also said Singapore would be able to ride out the global economic downturn as 'we are operating from a position of strength, not weakness'.

He said that saving a good part of last year's budget surplus will help tide Singapore through.

"Even with the large package of support that we provided households in this year's Budget, we did not spend all of the surplus we gained last year. By conserving resources, we can now respond to the coming downturn with confidence," he said.

Mr Tharman said Budget 2009 will continue to support families who suffer job cuts, but companies will get priority.

"The coming Budget will focus especially on helping businesses with their costs and cash-flow, and supporting them in their efforts to stay competitive. This will be the most effective way to help the economy as a whole, reduce job losses and help most Singaporeans," he said.

Other ways include investments in education and infrastructure.

"The best way we can help is not through unconditional handouts, but by helping Singaporeans stay employed, and supporting everyone to get retrained and upgraded," Mr Tharman said.

The finance minister was opening a memorial hall to commemorate Singapore's pioneer businessmen.

Mr Tharman said the situation today is different from the circumstances faced by Singapore's pioneer businessmen,

But he said there are also similarities. For example, the future was also uncertain, but with determination and by taking calculated risks, these businessmen created opportunities for themselves and for Singapore.


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How to avoid being retrenched

THE current recession - albeit a 'technical' one - could spell bad news for novices in the workforce, especially if you believe the ominous adage: 'Last one hired, first one fired.'

Lest you think it was coined by older workers trying to protect their positions, take it from business management lecturer Sarah Lim, 46, who says: 'With Singapore sliding into recession, the first people to go will be youth because they lack experience, skills and qualifications.

'In general, with all businesses, they will be the first to go.'

This is also true if history - worldwide - is anything to go by.

During the 1998-1999 recession, a fallout of the Asian financial crisis of 1997, surveys showed that young job-seekers could expect a drop of between 10 and 20 per cent in starting salaries compared with their cohorts from the previous year.

That is, if they had a job at all, given that the overall employment rate for 1998 university graduates fell to 83.4 per cent, an 11.5 percentage point drop from 1997.

In Japan, in 2001, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 logged in at double the national average - 9.7 per cent, against 5.4 per cent overall.

Before that, in 1989, before the recession hit in Canada, 62.3 per cent of Canadians aged 15 to 24 were employed.

By November 1992, the number had fallen to 50 per cent.

The good news is, you do not have to be a sitting duck.

Sure, a recession is a legitimate reason for bosses to start targeting deadwood, by asking who is worth their salary or who is contributing to the future of this company. Or even just, who do we like?

But with such a captive audience among decision-makers, it is also your time to shine. With everyone gauging your value, it is the perfect opportunity to make yourself 'recession-proof'.

So, become invaluable.

One way, say reports from CNN and The Times, is to be more of a 'flexible generalist'. Pick up tasks that fall outside your role, do not rock the boat.

Another way is to get to your company's core, says Ms Nancy Collamer, founder of LayoffSurvivalGuide.com.

According to the career expert, whose advice appears in multiple media outlets, including Fortune, Newsweek and Time, you should get involved in a project that is at the heart of your company's mission: making money.

Last but not least, when in the office, stay there.

Mr John Challenger, chief executive of job placement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says: 'Those who have a daily presence and are seen before and after regular hours will be the ones who stand out as indispensable.'

And while you are there, do not just sit. Make your time count because when the axe falls, it is what you do not do that will hurt you most.

If nothing else, you will be able to breathe more easily, having done what you can to prevent your career from being short-circuited during hard times.

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57,800 jobs created in Singapore in third quarter

Employment in Singapore grew by 57,800 in the third quarter this year, according to preliminary estimates by the Manpower Ministry.

The growth was lower than the gains of 71,400 in the preceding quarter and 58,600 in the third quarter of 2007.

After rising for two straight quarters, the overall jobless rate remained at a seasonally-adjusted 2.2 per cent in September, unchanged from June this year but higher than 1.7 per cent in September 2007.

Job growth was strongest in the construction sector. With a strong pipeline of building projects, construction employment grew by 16,400 in the third quarter of 2008, but lower than the record 22,400 gains in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the services sector added 36,200 jobs, lower than the gains of 38,300 in the second quarter but higher than 34,100 in the third quarter of 2007.

Amid weaker external demand, employment in manufacturing grew by 4,900 in the third quarter, half the increase in the previous three months.

- CNA/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia - 31 Oct 2008

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Forget layoffs, train staff

GIVEN the current economic climate, the job market is expected to get worse before it gets better.

But employers should not take the easy way out and cut costs by laying off workers at the first sign of trouble, said Dr Ahmad Magad, an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, yesterday.

'Employers should think twice before laying off their people, as recruitment and training costs can also be very high,' said Dr Ahmad, who chairs the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower.

'They should take the longer-term view and take advantage of this period to help their staff hone their skills and improve themselves,' he added.

He said that in 'turbulent times like now...we should not cut back on training and investment in our human capital, in order to prepare for recovery'.

He was speaking at the launch of the Practising Management Consultant Certification Scheme yesterday, which aims to raise the standard and professionalism of the management consulting industry.

The scheme, first announced in October last year, requires candidates to meet a stringent set of criteria, including getting at least five years of experience, taking training courses and passing an exam to obtain accreditation.

The industry-led initiative was borne out of a rising number of complaints about the varying levels of management consultancy services in Singapore.

It is conducted by the Practising Management Consultant Certification Board, which operates independently to award the accreditation.

The chairman of the certification board, Mr George Huang, said it would take anything from a week to months for a practising management consultant to qualify, depending on his experience.

The certification will cost an initial $1,800 to $3,500 for the first two years, after which it can be renewed for $700.

A pioneer batch of 31 consultants was awarded this certification yesterday.

Mr Huang estimates that there are about 10,000 such consultants in Singapore, of whom 3,000 are active.

'We expect the number of accredited consultants to grow with this scheme...as it's a form of quality control that differentiates the good consultants from the bad,' he said.

Spring Singapore chief executive Png Cheong Boon said he believed the scheme would raise industry standards, and urged firms to choose accredited consultants.

Spring Singapore, IE Singapore and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency are supporters of the new scheme.

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Buffers to come in handy in rocky job market

Buffers to come in handy in rocky job market

Flexible wage system may soften blow; some sectors to stay buoyant

By LYNETTE KHOO

(SINGAPORE) As the financial crisis spills over into the real economy, it comes as no surprise that economists, as well as the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), expect the jobless rate to rise steadily from the 2.2 per cent seen in the third quarter.

Looking good: Wage restructuring since 2003 will allow companies to make quicker adjustments to their wage costs in the event of sudden and severe business downturns rather than resort to firing, HR consultants say
The question is how high this could rise and how wages would be hit.

The highest jobless rate projection came from CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun, who believes that in a worst-case scenario, the unemployment rate could hit 5-6 per cent - in which case it would beat the 4 per cent annual jobless rate seen during the Sars crisis in 2003.

OCBC economist Selena Ling says she expects the jobless rate to cross 3 per cent next year as companies turn cautious on hiring and may even be forced to retrench more aggressively should the domestic technical recession become a prolonged downturn.

Also, another worry has descended on job creation, after employment grew by 57,800 in the third quarter, from a near record of 71,400 in the second quarter and 58,600 in Q3 2007.

This may mark an inflexion point from past record-breaking years, where job gains rose by a record 234,900 in 2007, far surpassing the gains of 176,000 in 2006.

Citi economist Kit Wei Zheng notes persistently declining labour productivity growth may place pressure on employers to shed jobs in the coming quarters. ‘The brunt of the job cuts will likely come from the manufacturing sector,’ he adds. ‘Electronics in particular could lose more jobs as the cyclical downturn accelerates the structural relocation of key manufacturing operations in 2009.’

The employment cycle typically lags the growth cycle by two quarters, according to DBS economist Irvin Seah. Any job losses would hence happen only in the first half of 2009.

Some 1,900 net job losses could occur in the manufacturing sector and a net loss of 500 jobs could take place in the financial services and business services sectors each next year, Mr Seah predicts.

While economists expect job creation to slow significantly, the labour market may be able to sidestep the massive net job losses seen in past recessions.

There was a net loss of 23,000 jobs during the dotcom bubble burst between 2001 and 2002, and another 12,900 jobs during the 2003 Sars period. Singapore’s first employment contraction during the Asian financial crisis saw some 23,400 jobs slashed, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) statistics show.

This time around, job losses in the manufacturing and financial sectors may be offset by gains in other sectors, such as the construction sector and vacancies to be filled at the two upcoming integrated resorts (IRs), economists say. The flexible wage system could also come in handy.

‘There could be some buffer because Singapore’s economy is slightly diversified from manufacturing and electronics per se, towards the services sectors,’ says OCBC’s Ms Ling. ‘Plus, we have the IRs coming up from the end of next year, which have indicated that they will hire tens of thousands of workers just to staff the IRs alone.’

Despite the lack of local talent acquainted with IR operations, HR consultants are confident there is unlikely to be significant skill mismatch among those looking to join the IR industry. ‘There are avenues available for prospective employees in the IR industries to gain training,’ says Annie Yap, chief executive of The GMP Group.

‘And with the substantially vast industry involving a broad range of required disciplines from service and securities to IT and marketing, people do not necessarily start from scratch, but rather align their skills to a job that is related to a certain degree.’

Wage restructuring since 2003 - with a shift towards a higher portion of employees’ salaries becoming variable and linked to performance - will allow companies to make quicker adjustments to their wage costs in the event of sudden and severe business downturns rather than resort to firing, HR consultants say.

As at December 2007, 84 per cent of the workforce in the private sector was under some form of flexible wage system, according to MOM data.

HR consultants are not expecting big cuts in basic wages, though pay increments and bonus payments may face some pressures.

‘Although companies are gearing up to fight back through various cost-cutting mechanisms, substantial or drastic measures like wage cut, bonus freeze, etc, are not on the cards,’ says Kulshaan Singh, client strategy and growth leader at Hewitt Southeast Asia. ‘This is the time most companies are in a ‘wait-and- watch’ mode.’

He adds that some of his clients are taking ‘austerity’ measures like deferring bonus payments and salary increases, and ‘promising to revisit the decision after more clarity emerges’.

Source : Business Times - 05 Nov 2008

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Services sector less upbeat about business prospects for next 6 months

The services sector is less upbeat about business prospects for the six months to March 2009, according to a quarterly survey conducted by the Singapore Department of Statistics.

The poll, which was conducted from September to mid-October, covered some 1,400 firms.

A weighted 15 per cent of the companies expect business to improve, but 30 per cent foresee a less favourable environment.

Of those surveyed, 55 per cent think business conditions will stay the same in the next few months until March 2009.

For the fourth quarter, the services sector expects operating receipts to remain similar to the preceding three months.

An increase in employment is also expected.


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Businesses see bleaker outlook

Manufacturing, financial services most gloomy but hotels, eateries unfazed

GLOOM is spreading among firms in the key manufacturing and service industries in Singapore, as the global economic slowdown intensifies.

More companies now expect business conditions to worsen over the next six months, compared to when they were last polled three months ago, according to two government surveys yesterday.

The most pessimistic are firms involved in financial services, property, chemicals, precision engineering, electronics and biomedicals. Likely to be the worst hit by the deepening financial crisis and weakening global demand, many more are forecasting cloudy skies ahead rather than sunny ones.

But hotels, restaurants and caterers are surprisingly optimistic, with four in 10 predicting a brighter outlook between now and next March. More than 90 per cent also expect to keep the same number of jobs or hire more people by the year end.

This could be partly because of the upcoming holiday season, said Barclays economist Leong Wai Ho.

'Restaurants and caterers tend to be more hopeful as they approach the traditional peak festive period from November to January,' he suggested.

'Given that there have been no significant job losses to date, and that more Singaporeans may be scaling down their overseas holiday plans, restaurant and catering revenues here may not take too much of a hit.'

Elsewhere, however, the outlook is increasingly grim.

Among manufacturers, 28 per cent believe the situation will deteriorate between now and next March, up from only 12 per cent in July, said the Economic Development Board (EDB). It surveyed almost 400 manufacturing firms over the last two months.

Most of the remaining companies think things will stay the same, with about one in 10 expecting conditions to improve.

Companies in the service sector were slightly more optimistic, buoyed by the wave of cheeriness among restaurants and caterers.

On the whole, 26 per cent of service firms now believe things will get worse, up from 22 per cent in July, according to the Department of Statistics, which polled about 1,400 companies in the industry.

In particular, firms in financial services see a bleak immediate future across the board. From banks and finance companies to brokers and fund managers, not a single one predicted business conditions would improve in the next six months.

Real estate companies have an equally bleak outlook, with only 1 per cent believing things will get better soon and 42 per cent anticipating the opposite.

But for the fourth quarter of this year, most firms in the service sector are expecting business to remain stable. Almost all industries - including wholesalers, retailers, caterers and business services - also plan to hire more people than in the third quarter, with the exception of financial services and hoteliers.

For manufacturing, most industries plan to cut employment in the fourth quarter, except for the transport engineering and general manufacturing clusters.

Barclays' Mr Leong expects business expectations to 'get progressively worse'.

'All the signs in the United States, Europe and Japan are pointing to a more severe slump than we had earlier expected,' he said.

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Job market to weaken

There could be higher retrenchment, says Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong

THE job market, already beset by worries over the economy, could turn worse over the next few months, resulting in more Singaporeans losing their jobs.

This is because employers could turn more cautious as a global slowdown takes hold, said Acting Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong yesterday.

Speaking after the Singapore Hotel Association's (SHA) annual awards ceremony held at the National University of Singapore Cultural Centre, Mr Gan said: 'I think, overall, the job market will continue to weaken towards the end of the year as businessmen turn more cautious.

'In hiring practices, they will be more cautious so job creation will slow down, there could also be higher retrenchment.'

His warning comes on the back of a Manpower Ministry report last week which showed that the job market was weakening.

The report said 2,000 workers were retrenched in the third quarter of the year, up from 1,798 in the previous quarter. Although unemployment was unchanged at 2.2 per cent, the report noted that 13,600 fewer jobs were added in the three months ending Sept 30.

The outlook may be bleak, Mr Gan noted, but he gave this assurance to workers: The Government, unions and Singapore National Employer's Federation are prepared, and they are ready to help those affected.

Workers will get training and upgrading opportunities, and will also be helped to acquire new skills so they can get jobs in sectors less affected by the downturn, he said.

He gave the example of manufacturing workers switching to the service sector, and said: 'We are looking at how to help them find jobs, match them with new jobs that are still being created.'

Yesterday, Mr Gan also had words of advice for the tourism sector, which has seen arrivals decline for four straight months.

Though the short-term outlook for the industry is shaky, he said tourism workers should strive to uphold high standards.

In a downturn, he explained, people are more likely to take short trips, so this means regional travel would help prop up the sector.

Looking down the road, he said things are much more rosy, with big events such as the Volvo Ocean Race early next year and the opening of the two Integrated Resorts in a few years on the calendar.

This means the industry should 'continue to train manpower so it can capitalise on the growth opportunities' later, he added.

At yesterday's ceremony, 1,928 service staff, ranging from junior sous-chefs to bell-hops, received Excellent Service Awards - an annual national prize which was launched in 1994 to recognise individuals who have delivered outstanding service.

Among those honoured yesterday was Mr Mohamad Yusoff bin Mohd Shah, 26, who started working in the service industry when he was 16, serving guests at Chinese weddings for $5 an hour.

Since then, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) drop-out has relied on elbow grease to climb the rungs in the industry, and now runs Orchard Hotel's lounge bar.

Said the first-time winner, who has had praise lavished on him by many hotel guests: 'I feel great for being recognised for working so hard from the bottom. There was once I worked 24 hours at a stretch.

'It is all about passion. Have that, and it will overcome every obstacle. That, and a big smile on your face always.'


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Just how safe is your job?

The five riskiest sectors

# Banking and finance

Considering the root of this crisis was in the banking and finance sector, its employees face the biggest risk of layoffs as the industry consolidates.

This difficult period will last for at least one to two years, say analysts.

Investment bankers, stock traders, analysts and bank tellers are particularly vulnerable, compared to those in specific functional roles such as risk, control and operations.

Some financial institutions are also turning to contract hiring as a way to fill back-end positions to keep costs down.

Any jobs considered to be support roles, or non-essential, may also be among the first to go, added analysts.

# Tourism and services

As consumer spending slows in tandem with the economic slide, the services and tourism industry is expected to take a significant hit.

With customers tightening their belts, employers in this sector may have to cut costs by laying off staff from businesses such as hotels and travel agencies.

Visitor arrivals have suffered four months of decline, so tourism will also be hit as regional travellers forgo holidays here.

Other workers who are at risk include semi-skilled and unskilled workers such as cleaners and waiters.

# Luxury and retail

During bad times, in-your-face luxury 'is suddenly very passe', analysts say.

Consumers are likely to cut back on luxury goods while high-end stores and luxury brands scale back staff numbers to reduce costs, they say.

The credit squeeze is likely to continue exerting pressure on consumer spending, so employment, salaries and bonuses in this industry could take a hit.

# Manufacturing

Singapore's manufacturing production numbers have been sliding because of weakening demand for exports.

Electronics, which makes up 30 per cent of Singapore's manufacturing sector, is expected to slide further as firms scale down information technology spending and defer outlays on tech upgrades.

Jobs in the manufacturing sector are vulnerable as a fall in demand could cause firms to scale back to cut costs.

# Transport and aviation

As consumers adopt a more conservative outlook and tighten their belts, demand for transport services such as taxis and flights is likely to be affected.

Fuel prices and falling demand could also take a toll on airline profits.

Carriers in the United States and India have already reported plans to retrench staff, including pilots, stewards and baggage handlers.


Five low-risk sectors

# Law

The legal profession is still seeing strong demand. In the current economic climate, analysts see a shift in terms of skill sets required, with a stronger call for insolvency and bankruptcy lawyers.

# Accountancy

As the finance industry consolidates, demand remains healthy for accountants, particularly cost management executives and those skilled in tax restructuring and managing distressed assets.

# Public sector, including teachers

The public service sector has always been a 'relatively stable sector' and remains the largest employer in Singapore, says recruitment firm Robert Walters.

Education is generally not affected by economic volatility, so teaching jobs, in particular, are relatively safe.

# Health care

Health care is generally regarded as recession-proof, although this depends on the nature of the service provided.

Optional surgical procedures such as cosmetic enhancements and dental services not covered by health insurance are likely to see a fall in demand.

The employment prospects for other occupations such as doctors, medical assistants and nurses are likely to remain stable.

# Energy

Countries will still need energy to run, so jobs related to oil and gas, and alternative, renewable energy are likely to remain relatively stable.

With the growth of climate change awareness fuelling a demand for 'green' skills in the energy sector, this industry is tipped to remain strong despite the current economic slowdown.

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Want a bigger pay increase for 2009? Forget about it!

Forget about asking for a higher salary increment this year, as HR practitioners' salary increments are likely to range from 0 to 10%. Furthermore, if you are a talent management or a resourcing specialist, you may just find yourself out of a job too.

In a recent 2008 Q4 HR Salary and Economic Outlook Report, The Chapman Consulting Group says HR practitioners salary increments will likely to fall in the band of 0 to 10%. For the fourth quarter of the year, an HR regional head based in Singapore can expect to earn between S$280,000 to S$400,000, while a country head can earn anywhere between S$240,000 to $350,000.

However, while Matthew Chapman, managing director of The Chapman Group says HR practitioners should not dispair, as HR practitioners have seen dramatic salary increases in the past years and this decrease is just a way of normalising the market.

For people to receive a large salary increment when they change jobs, HR practitioners need to encompass one of the following factors, Chapman says. One of which is if the person was severely underpaid before, or if the company has a budget which would allow for a large increment. Another reason would be if the HR practitioner would possesses exceptional value such as strong business knowledge or specialist knowledge in HR and is highly sought after.

Furthermore, with companies tightening their budgets, Chapman predicts that companies may soon be re-evaulating and scaling back on HR positions which are "nice to have", such as resourcing practitioners and talent management/succession planning practitioners. Even operational functions may not be spared the axe, he adds.

While Chapman says he has yet to see widespread retrenchments in this field, he adds, "It is not to say that if you a recruitment person that your position will be cut. But it is fair to say when companies look at their hiring budgets for the future, if times don't improve, they might cut back on these positions," Chapman says.

And because HR is a cost centre, it becomes important for HR to demonstrate value to the business. "But when there is extra headcount, or too many people or people who aren't adding value, that is when you've got things to be worried about."

However, if companies do scale back, the ratio of HR practitioners to employees in a company will increase. They may be asked to extra roles or business units "until times improve and when companies feel safe in making investment in other people".

So is this a good time for HR practitioners to think about jumping ship now? Chapman says unless practitioners are unhappy with their current job, it is best for "staying stable with your career right now". Plus, for employees who are looking to move, they should exercise greater caution and conduct greater due diligence before they accept a job offer. Some of the questions to ask prospective employers include, "What is their strategy? Is HR being impacted by some of the recent events? If you're a team manager, what does your team look like?"

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57,800 jobs created in Singapore in third quarter

Employment in Singapore grew by 57,800 in the third quarter this year, according to preliminary estimates by the Manpower Ministry. The growth was lower than the gains of 71,400 in the preceding quarter and 58,600 in the third quarter of 2007.

After rising for two straight quarters, the overall jobless rate remained at a seasonally-adjusted 2.2 per cent in September, unchanged from June this year but higher than 1.7 per cent in September 2007.

Job growth was strongest in the construction sector. With a strong pipeline of building projects, construction employment grew by 16,400 in the third quarter of 2008, but lower than the record 22,400 gains in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile, the services sector added 36,200 jobs, lower than the gains of 38,300 in the second quarter but higher than 34,100 in the third quarter of 2007.

Amid weaker external demand, employment in manufacturing grew by 4,900 in the third quarter, half the increase in the previous three months.

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How to Start a Business in a Bad Economy

It seems like nearly every day there’s more bad news about the economy. Even worse, it’s hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Given that, it may seem like a terrible time to start a small business. So here’s something that may surprise you: it’s actually not. The truth is that many small businesses that launch during tough economic times not only flourish, but are stronger and leaner than they would have been otherwise. Here are a few tips on how to take advantage of what an economic downturn has to offer:

Plan thoroughly. One of the most important things you can do to promote the success of a business you start in a downturn is to develop a game plan. The most effective way to do that is with a business plan, although a simple Excel spreadsheet works well too. The first step is to devise realistic, feasible numbers for your business. Take a look at the sales projections that you may have already developed. Do they jibe with the sales volume other small businesses in your industry are now experiencing? Also take a look at your expenditures. As you’ve likely heard, prominent venture capital firms are urging their portfolio start-ups to cut costs where they can. With that in mind, attack your business plan (or spreadsheet) with a scalpel and excise as many unnecessary expenditures as possible.

Focus your start-up. One of the most common mistakes entrepreneurs make is to trying to do too much, too soon. Direct all of your energy and cash on the one product or service you think is most saleable. Remember, you can always grow your business or product lines later. An economic downturn is not the time to spread your capital thin.

Don’t underestimate the competition. Many entrepreneurs assume that because an economic downturn weeds out frail businesses, that the playing field is wide open. Sure, some businesses are wiped out by tough times. But the businesses that remain are likely strong enough to present a real threat to your new start-up. Thoroughly research who’s in your space before you enter it, and make sure you know why your competition is still standing.

Lastly, push aside the fear, uncertainly, and doubt that’s gripping Wall Street and the nation. Times are tough. But if you’re serious about starting a business right now, you’ll have to throw some caution to the wind. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have a healthy respect for what’s shaking down on Wall Street. But, you shouldn’t be so crippled by “what ifs” that you can’t move forward with your start-up.

This guest post was written by Bryan Howe, Founder and CEO of MasterPlans.com.

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Rising job losses are likely

OB losses are looming as Singapore's economy slows, with manufacturing and financial services companies expected to be among the first to cut staff.

This means unemployment is likely to rise over the next few quarters, while salaries will grow at a much slower pace, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in its latest half-yearly Macroeconomic Review, released yesterday.

The jobless rate for the third quarter is due out this Friday, and is expected to be higher than the 2.3 per cent seen in the second quarter.

Last week, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang warned that unemployment for the whole year is likely to come in higher than last year's 2.1 per cent given the effects of the global financial turmoil.

Economists are tipping that the jobless rate will reach 3 per cent by year end or early next year, and rise to close to 4 per cent towards the end of next year - a level not seen since the Sars period in 2003.

Although businesses are 'not planning to drastically reduce head count at the moment', the MAS said employers are turning cautious about hiring given the more uncertain outlook next year.

It cited the most recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which showed that only a quarter of the 629 firms surveyed here plan to increase their head count in the fourth quarter.

The rest mostly expected no change, although some are still uncertain and 10 per cent will cut jobs.

Wages will also come under pressure. They are expected to grow about 5 per cent this year but rise only 2 per cent next year, said the MAS.

Already, salary hikes have declined sharply. Nominal wages climbed 11 per cent in the first quarter over the previous year, boosted by a round of civil service bonuses, but then rose only 3.1 per cent in the second quarter, partly because of a high base the year before.

'The outlook is generally bearish,' said OCBC economist Selena Ling.

'As the global downturn continues to prick strongly on people's minds, employers are going to be cutting back.'

Even pump-priming by the Government - which refers to state spending to stimulate the economy - is likely to be in infrastructure, which 'may not fully translate into local job gains'.

But Ms Ling added that unemployment last year - which fell to 1.7 per cent in the second half of the year - was an 'unbelievable' rate.

'A more normal rate is probably about 3 per cent, but that means the resident unemployment rate, excluding foreigners, will be higher than that,' she said.

The jobless rate, calculated by dividing the number of unemployed people by the total workforce, is also rising partly because more fresh graduates are entering the job market, said Citigroup economist Kit Wei Zheng.

He expects unemployment to average 2.6 per cent this year and continue edging up next year to hit 3.6 per cent.

Within manufacturing, the MAS believes hiring in petrochemicals and transport engineering 'should hold up relatively well', but electronics jobs will take a hit due partly to softening global demand for IT products.

The global financial crisis and bank consolidations will also translate into job cuts in the financial services industry here, where many multinational corporations have set up home. 'Several major foreign financial institutions have already announced retrenchments worldwide, which could lead to some job losses in their local offices,' said the MAS.

Even construction, which is still growing at a fairly healthy pace, is likely to see fewer jobs created as a shortage of labour and material leads to project delays, the MAS added.

OCBC's Ms Ling also expects business services such as commercial leasing and conveyancing to be hit, as they are 'very tied to the property boom', which is now over.

But selected industries such as hospitality and health care still have thousands of job vacancies that need to be filled, said the MAS.

The integrated resorts and related firms alone will generate about 60,000 jobs over the next few years, while 7,000 jobs are expected to be created in health care over the next five years.

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Job placement centres see more individuals seeking help

Observers are predicting rising unemployment rate in Singapore as businesses freeze hiring and reduce headcount to cope with the economic downturn.

The jobless rate for the third quarter – due to be announced this Friday – is expected to be higher than the 2.3 per cent seen in the last quarter. Outplacement firms said retrenchments have already taken place and no industry is spared.

35-year-old Mohd Rosni Kadir is one victim of the current downturn. The former technical sales executive was laid off from his job of four years, just two months ago.

Having just got married last week, Mohd Rosni decided to get help from the South East Community Development Council (CDC), which runs a career centre in partnership with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA).

He is now hoping to get a job as a construction or shipyard safety supervisor.

"After being retrenched, I got through it because I had my own savings. I hope that through the programme that CDC has, I can upgrade myself to a higher standard," Mohd Rosni said.

The career centre is beginning to see more cases of unemployed Singaporeans. Its manager said there are about 15 to 20 cases daily – double the number of cases a year ago.

During the post-SARS period, the centre saw about 30 cases daily. Six in ten people were successfully placed in jobs, while seven in ten remained in the same job for three months or more.

Every person that comes through the career centre is assigned a case worker, who will follow though the job seeker's progress for up to six months.

At the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), it is seeing people who are still employed, but fear their jobs are at risk. Managed by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), e2i is a one-stop centre that provides training and job placements.

Ang Hin Kee, director, Employability Enhancement Department, NTUC, said: "Others who are more at risk say, 'Look, I'm worried. Orders don't seem to come in, things seem to be slowing down; bosses have been giving me signals that things are tough. Probably in the next three to six months, I'll urgently need some recourse before the axe starts to fall on me. What do I do?'."

There are six career centres spread across Singapore to give job seekers a lifeline. The good news is that compared to the pre-SARS period, there are now more training centres that can help equip job seekers with the relevant skills to go into growth industries.

Vengadesh Naidu, centre manager, South East CDC, said: "The hiring sectors are, of course, the growth sectors – healthcare, retail. The IR is being built so there are a lot of hospitality jobs. It depends on whether you are ready. If you are not, we will get you ready.

"Many of them who approach us have not been in the workforce for a long time, probably they need help with their resumes, their interviews... We do provide this kind of assistance."

Job counsellors said it is essential for job seekers to manage expectations, as well as seize opportunities to enter a new industry.

"Make good use of the opportunities that are available rather than lament on the fact that this job has been taken up or there are no more vacancies in this industry," said Mr Ang.

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HR experts say most firms will still give out bonuses this year

Salary experts have put the pay increment forecast for end-2008 at anything between zero and 3 per cent, on the back of a weakening economy. However, bonuses should still be on the cards for most companies.

Human resource consultants said companies may slash their year-end pay increments or even cut salaries.

Paul Heng, managing director, Next Career Consulting Group Asia, said: "The companies are at liberty to either freeze the monthly variable component (MVC) or they can actually reduce the quantum that is put in the MVC to keep the company afloat."

But even at an optimistic 3 per cent pay hike, real wages are expected to shrink, with inflation coming in at between 6 and 7 per cent this year.

"I think a budget has already been set for 2008, so companies may still go ahead with the 13th month. Many companies peg their variable components to performance targets.

"If performance targets are met, I think it's difficult for companies not to pay off bonuses. But for any kind of bonuses in terms of profitability, I think companies may be wise to actually hold back to see how things may pan out in 2009," said Heng.

But experts have warned that if the global economy slides further south, then 2009 is going to look much worse.

The current situation is very different from the SARS period in 2003 and the 97/98 Asian financial crisis. This time round, analysts said it is a global challenge and both businesses and governments are not quite sure how to react.

The government is expected to implement the third phase of salary adjustment for civil servants, including ministers, at year's end to close the gap between public and private sector pay.

The target, for example, is to move the pay of staff under the MR4 grade to 88 per cent of the benchmark by the end this year. MR4 grade officers include permanent secretaries and ministers.

The Staff Grade 1 (MR4) benchmark is pegged to two-thirds of the income of the 24th highest earner, among a group comprising the top eight earners from six professions – bankers, lawyers, engineers, accountants, local manufacturers and MNCs. The benchmark is currently S$2.2 million.

But given the current economic climate, human resource experts said the government may just hold off any pay revision for now.

Derek Berry, business leader, Human Capital (ASEAN), said: "The need to adjust salaries comes in attracting and retaining talent, and how much competition there is to do that. If there's a softening in the economy, that will go down and therefore, there will be less need.

"I think the Singapore government... would likely, from a messaging point of view, either reduce it or defer it. And given that we've got a very bumpy economy at the moment, I'd probably want to see it more stable before I'd want to push through with something like that."

The Public Service Division has said it would need some time to study the private sector data and salary trends before coming to a decision on any pay increment.


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S'pore jobless rate to rise

JOB losses are looming as the economy slows, with companies in the manufacturing and financial services industries expected to be the first to cut staff.

This means unemployment is set to rise over the next few quarters, while salaries will grow at a much slower pace, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in its latest half-yearly Macro Economic Review, released on Tuesday.

Already, employers are turning cautious about hiring given the more uncertain outlook next year, the MAS added.

It cited the most recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, which showed that only a quarter of the 629 firms surveyed here planned to increase headcount in the fourth quarter. The rest mostly expected no change, although some were still uncertain and 10 per cent said they cut jobs.

Within manufacturing, the MAS believes hiring in petrochemicals and transport engineering 'should hold up relatively well', but electronics jobs will take a hit due to softening global demand for IT products and ongoing restructuring in the industry.

Several financial institutions have also announced retrenchments worldwide, which is likely to impact on Singapore as it is home to many multinational companies.

Even construction, a sector that is still growing at a healthy pace, may see weaker job growth as projects are delayed.

But selected industries such as hospitality and healthcare still have thousands of job vacancies that need to be filled, said the MAS. The integrated resorts and related firms will generate about 60,000 jobs over the next few years, while 7,000 jobs are expected to be created in healthcare over the next five years.

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S'pore Economy To Weaken

Growth will slow for "several quarters", said MTI minister

SINGAPORE'S economy, already in a technical recession, is likely to see weak growth in the next few quarters due to the unfolding impact from the global financial crisis, said Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang on Monday.

Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang said while Singapore's inflation, which hit a 26-year high of 7.5 per cent in April, May and June, will continue to ease, it will take time for the decline in prices to be reflected in the consumer price index.

'We must be prepared for weaker growth in the next few quarters, and possibly longer depending on when the global economy recovers,' he told Parliament when replying to questions from MPs on how singapore has been affected by the global turmoil.

'Singapore's economy is small, open and closely linked to the global economy, said Mr Lim.

'We cannot escape the impact of the global financial crisis and economic slowdown.'

Mr Lim said the slowing economy has already affected the labour market 'Employers are exercising more caution in their hiring, with most employers preferring to keep their headcount steady,' he said.

'Given that the economic weakness is expected to continue into 2009, moderation in employment growth is expected in the second-half of 2008 through to 2009,' he said.

For 2008, the unemployment rate is likely to exceed the 2.1 per cent recorded in 2007, said Mr Lim.

He said the number of retrenchments in Singapore has stayed at the same level as in previous quarters, but it may climb as the economy slows further.

'Moderation of employment growth is expected in the second half of 2008, and through to 2009,' said the minister.

Figures released earlier this month showed Singapore has entered into a technical recession, generally defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction in economic output.

The economy shrank by 6.3 per cent in the third quarter after contracting 5.7 perc ent in the previous quarter, preliminary data from the ministry of trade and industry released this month showed.

For 2008, the ministry has downgraded its 2008 growth targets to 3.0 per cent from 4.0-5.0 per cent, citing the global slowdown as the reason behind the revised forecast.

On inflation, which hit a 26-year high of 7.5 percent in April, May and June, Mr Lim said it will continue to ease, but it will take time for the decline in prices to be reflected in the consumer price index.

'I must caution that inflation will continue to be sticky for the next few months,' Mr Lim said, adding authorities were 'confident inflation will revert back to 2-3 percent' next year.

Singapore's central bank said on Oct 10 it expects inflation to remain within the 6-7 per cent target for 2008, and forecast inflation to ease to 2.5-3.5 per cent in 2009.

Mr Lim said Singapore's three local banks DBS , United Overseas Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp are well capitalised and their asset quality remains strong despite the problems in the United States.

'Banks and insurance companies in Singapore do not have large exposures to either US mortgage-related securities orto the institutions that have failed,' saidMr Lim, who is also deputy chairman of the city-state's central bank.

In a nod that slowing growth posed a greater risk to Singapore's economy than rising prices, Singapore's central bank eased monetary policy for the first time since 2003 in October. -- AFP, REUTERS

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14400 Franchising Jobs By 2013

The franchise industry here is on a roll and is projected to create 14,400 jobs by 2013.

That estimate from the Franchising and Licensing Association (FLA) was announced by Ms Indranee Rajah, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, yesterday.

Ms Rajah told the opening of the Franchising and Licensing Asia (FLAsia) 2008 exhibition: ‘Last year, Singapore’s 30,000 franchisees brought in near US$3.8 billion (S$5.6 billion) in revenue. The growth of the franchising and licensing market is very encouraging as its resulted increase in commercial activities will create favourable employment opportunities.’

The Suntec exhibition will showcase about 200 top franchises, brands and licences from more than 18 countries from sectors like food and beverage, education and health and wellness.

Some well-known brands involved include 7-Eleven, Carl’s Jr and Spa Esprit. They have all found a lucrative home in Singapore, which has long been an ideal location for franchisors.

Mr Douglas Foo, chairman of FLA Singapore, told The Straits Times yesterday: ‘Singapore has good intellectual property protection and a good talent pool, as well as a globalised workforce.

‘These are good pre-requisites for Singapore to be the hub of franchising.’

Ms Rajah backed that view in her speech, citing a World Bank report which said Singapore was positioned top among 175 countries on the ease of doing business and providing investor protection.

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Salary revision for civil service?

The verdict is still out on whether the Civil Service will see a revision in salaries.

It is still too early to find out if civil service employees will see the salaries dip, or remain the same, in the face of the current economic recession.

In response to media queries, the Public Service Division issued the following statement: "Civil Service salaries are reviewed and revised regularly to keep in line with the private sector. Civil Service salaries have thus gone up and down in line with private sector salaries.

"In the salary revision of 2007, a significant part of a senior civil servant's annual pay was structured as a GDP Bonus. The GDP Bonus - first introduced in 2000 - is linked to the GDP growth rate. If the GDP growth rate falls, the GDP Bonus will also fall, resulting in a reduction in the annual salaries of senior civil servants.

"Salary data on the private sector is still being compiled. Given the recent turmoil in the financial markets and revised economic forecasts, the Public Service Division will need some time to study the data and salary trends before coming to a decision."

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Merrill cuts at least 75 jobs in Asia

Among those leaving is the head of structured finance for Asia ex-Japan, Rajiv Garg, who says there are still short-term trading opportunities in the market which he intends to tap.

Merrill Lynch has embarked on a round of layoffs that will cut at least 75 jobs in the Asia-Pacific region, according to sources. Most of the cuts will come in the bank’s trading and sales divisions and will affect both its fixed-income and equities business.

Not too surprisingly, the layoffs include several high-profile people who used to focus on structured finance and structured credit – a business that has come to a virtual standstill since the financial crisis took hold earlier this year. Among those who have left the bank this week, according to several sources, are Rajiv Garg, head of structured finance for Asia ex-Japan, Karl Im, a managing director and head of one the bank’s specialist structuring teams, and Mark Long, who was head of the commodities team. Merrill Lynch declined to comment.

The downsizing, which is part of a global drive to reduce headcount by about 500, is a direct result of the decline in trading volumes and revenues as well as the worsening outlook for financial markets and is not related to the ongoing merger with Bank of America. Rather it marks a continuation of a cost-cutting trend that has seen Merrill reduce its headcount by 3,300 people in the past 12 months. The bank has posted five straight quarters of losses totalling $23.8 billion.

“This is a change of the business plan in response to the market situation which would have taken place whether or not the bank was being absorbed by BoA,” says one of the sources.

Indeed, a BoA spokesman has earlier said that no decision will be made on staff cuts until the merger has been completed. Earlier this week, Merrill CEO John Thain told Bloomberg that he expects thousands of job cuts post the merger.

A clear sign that these layoffs are a direct response to the slowdown in trading activity is the fact that Merrill continues to hire for other parts of the bank. At the end of last month, it snapped up a team of six power sector investment bankers led by James Chapman from Lehman Brothers.

Before this latest round of layoffs, Merrill had about 60,900 employees, of which approximately 4,000 were based in Asia ex-Japan and another 1,500 in Japan. The reduction of staff in Asia, which depending on who you talk to is said to total between 75 and 100 people, is in proportion to the amount of revenues the bank earns in the region, indicating that the slowdown in trading activity has hit equally hard across the geographies.

This is different from the redundancies that are anticipated as a result of the merger with BoA, which are expected to come primarily in the US where the two banks have the greatest overlap. Asia is expected to suffer relatively less from those cuts, both because of the lower level of duplication between the two businesses here and because Asia is still regarded as a growth region that should lead the rest of the world out of the current economic slowdown.

One person familiar with the way Merrill used to structure its business says the bank had several specialty structuring teams focusing on different types of products. This was great in a bull market as the bank was able to customise services for the clients according to their needs, but it has left a lot of idle staff since these businesses came to a halt. One example is the team selling collateralised debt obligations – an asset class that has fallen completely out of favour with investors and has taken a lot of the blame for the credit crunch – which was effectively wound down months ago. Some of the people on these specialty structuring teams have been converted into generalists, but a majority are now being let go.

Rajiv Garg, who is said to have left the bank as a result of a negotiated settlement, had been with Merrill for at least 10 years. He left Hong Kong to join DSP Merrill Lynch in India in early 2006, but stayed only about 18 months. He has been based in Singapore since August 2007. He was followed out the door by six other people on his team. Another four or five people are part of a core Asia ex-Japan structuring team that is working on winding down the bank’s remaining exposures.

Garg told FinanceAsia that he still sees short-term trading opportunities, however, and is planning to set up a boutique outfit to exploit those opportunities together with three other professionals with expertise within equities, rates and currencies respectively.

“If you read the market right, you can make a lot of money from short-term trading,” he says.

The investment banks, meanwhile, face an environment where it will be a lot harder to make big returns as they will be under the watchful eye of the regulators. That in mind, it is highly likely that there will be more layoffs across the sector as costs are cut and businesses are adjusted to a new low-risk environment where investment banks are part of a bigger deposit-taking organisation and revenues will be derived primarily from agency-type businesses.

“It will be back to basics for most firms, the kind of business where you borrow at 3%, lend to clients at 6% and take a 3 percentage point margin,” suggests one source.

That may well be a solid business plan for the big banks, but it isn’t an exciting option for people who have over the past few years spent all their time working on complex and highly profitable structures and we may see more boutique firm sprout up as these guys are let go.

In other words, Garg and friends could soon get company on the trading floor.

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