Disclaimer: Except in any other case acknowledged, any opinions expressed beneath belong solely to the creator. Knowledge sourced from the Singapore Division of Statistics and the Financial Growth Board.
2026 is upon us already, so it is sensible to try what the approaching yr is promising to convey to the Singaporean economic system, together with jobs and salaries.
Between Sept and Oct, EDB and the Singapore Division of Statistics performed their quarterly surveys of enterprise expectations within the manufacturing and companies sectors, respectively, asking them, i.a., about their predictions for the interval till Mar 2026.
Listed here are their findings.
Darkish clouds over factories?
With 23% of native manufacturing firms reporting optimistic enterprise outlook in comparison with 15% expressing pessimism (with the remaining anticipating enterprise as traditional), the online weighted common for the sector is a optimistic 8%.
Nevertheless, issues are slightly totally different whenever you take a look at particular industries.
Whereas 4 out of the six broad classes count on development, there appears to be a big slowdown in precision engineering, significantly in Equipment & Techniques.
What’s extra, even Electronics, primarily pushed by the surge in demand for semiconductors, and companies in Laptop Peripherals & Knowledge Storage are all bracing for headwinds. In reality, not a single firm there expects the approaching months to be higher.
It’s an identical story with Transport Engineering, whose optimism is pushed by the robust Aerospace sector, far outweighing the destructive outlook of firms in Land transportation.
The turbulent state of affairs in a few of these industries is, after all, attributable to a mix of uncertainty attributable to tariffs and the AI growth, which is each a boon for some and a threat, in case the bubble quickly deflates, leaving expertise firms scrambling for one thing else to do as an alternative.
Sunny skies for many companies
Thankfully, the state of affairs seems to be higher within the companies sector, which accounts for 3/4 of all resident employment in Singapore.
Following the scare of recession after Trump’s tariff coverage shook the world, the emotions have rebounded to related ranges as earlier than the brand new US president took workplace.
Gloomy eventualities haven’t materialised, and the Singapore economic system really posted a stellar GDP development this yr, rising by over 4% (with ultimate knowledge coming early subsequent yr).
Because of this, except for two industries, all others expect development in early 2026, mainly in commerce, tourism, and recreation, in addition to IT.
The 2 outliers are Actual Property and Transportation & Storage. The previous is experiencing each home and exterior pressures, because the overheated native market has seen a authorities clampdown in recent times whereas grappling with the exact same uncertainty the brand new US administration has triggered elsewhere, dampening traders’ moods.
As native authorities try to rein within the worth inflation and discourage speculative purchases, attempting to guard each the private and non-private property markets, there’s merely much less enterprise for firms within the property sector, with no finish to restrictions in sight.
In the meantime, companies in logistics—particularly in water transportation—are dealing with harder competitors amid an oversupply of vessels, which is affecting freight charges.
The temporary pandemic bonanza, when many skilled a surge in demand and earnings, seems to be over, and the trade is now attempting to determine the place the brand new regular lies.
Even when the economic system as a complete retains rising in 2026, these points might impression each employment and salaries within the affected sectors. And whereas on common Singaporeans can hope for a pay bump of between 3 to six%, bringing the nationwide median to S$6000 per 30 days, your particular person state of affairs might differ tremendously relying on what you do.
- Learn different articles we’ve written on Singaporean companies right here.
Featured Picture Credit score: peerapat/ depositphotos
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