Disclaimer: Until in any other case acknowledged, any opinions expressed beneath belong solely to the creator. Information sourced from RGF Skilled Recruitment Wage Watch 2025.
Regardless of latest media stories proclaiming the top of job-hopping for increased pay, it seems that some industries are nonetheless prepared to supply a bonus to certified folks simply to poach them away from rivals—at the very least in Singapore, based on the just lately launched RGF’s Wage Watch 2025 report (RGF is part of a significant Japanese HR tech holding, Recruit Group, which additionally owns firms like Certainly or Glassdoor).
The corporate focuses on mid-to-senior-level recruitment throughout 4 main trade teams: Industrial Manufacturing, Client Items & Retail, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Company Providers—and that is what we’ve knowledge for right here.
Unyielding demand for expertise
The rationale Singapore may be a little bit of an outlier, whereas different international locations report narrowing gaps between job-switchers and constant workers, is the compressed nature of the city-state.
It’s tightly filled with many worldwide firms, that are dealing with native shortages of expertise, even when they may be laying folks off in different places.
In line with an earlier survey by ManpowerGroup, Singapore’s expertise scarcity is among the many worst on the planet, as reported by a staggering 83% of employers. Little over a decade in the past, it was simply 25%.
It shouldn’t be a shock, then, that employers are attempting to lure good candidates from different firms by providing them a considerable reward for switching jobs.
Right here’s the breakdown by trade, as supplied by RGF:
| Trade | Wage enhance for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Client Items & Retail | 12% to fifteen% |
| Company Providers | 12% |
| Healthcare & Life Sciences | 12% to 18% |
| Industrial Manufacturing | 10% |
As at all times, the final word supply, after all, depends upon the job and talent set of the rent. Listed below are the scorching jobs in every of those industries for 2025:
Scorching jobs & abilities
Client Items & Retail
| Division | Positions | Firm | Abilities in Demand | Wage enhance for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Enterprise Technique & Industrial | Director / Supervisor / Supervisor | All | Market Evaluation, Gross sales Methods, Negotiation and Aggressive Intelligence, Monetary Acumen, Market Information, Contract Administration | 10% to fifteen% |
| Advertising and marketing & Branding | Director / Supervisor / Supervisor | All | Digital Content material Advertising and marketing, Search Engine Optimisation (website positioning), Information Analytics and Interpretation, Digital Advertising and marketing, Analytics Metrics, Competitor Evaluation | 10% to fifteen% |
| Gross sales & Enterprise Growth | Head / Supervisor / Senior Supervisor / Supervisor | All | Gross sales Forecasting, Budgeting, Strategic Partnerships, website positioning, ECommerce, Networking | 10% to fifteen% |
Company Providers
| Division | Positions | Firm | Abilities in Demand | Wage enhance for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Finance & Accounting | CFO | Massive Native / World MNC HQ | Strategic Monetary Planning, Regulatory Compliance and Danger Administration, Capital Elevating and M&A | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | Money Circulation Administration, Know-how and Information Analytics, Value Administration and Effectivity | 8% to 12% |
| — | Director | All | Strategic Monetary Planning, Regulatory Compliance and Danger Administration, Information Analytics and Monetary Know-how | 10% to fifteen% |
| Human Assets | CHRO | World MNC | World Expertise Administration, Digital HR Transformation, Strategic Workforce Planning | 15% to twenty% |
| — | — | Change Administration, Worker Engagement and Retention, Labour Relations and Compliance | Change Administration, Worker Engagement and Retention, Labor Relations and Compliance | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | HR Generalist Abilities, Expertise Acquisition and Growth, Value Administration | 8% to 12% |
| — | Director | Massive Native/ World MNC HQ | Change Administration, Worker Engagement and Retention, Labour Relations and Compliance | 10% to fifteen% |
| Authorized & Compliance | Director | Massive Native/ World MNC HQ | Regulatory Compliance and Danger Administration, Company Governance, Information Privateness and Cybersecurity | 10% to fifteen% |
| Normal Affairs, Admin & Secretary | Director | Massive Native/ World MNC HQ | Organizational and Undertaking Administration, Communication Abilities, Know-how Proficiency | 10% to fifteen% |
Healthcare and Life Sciences
| Division | Positions | Firm | Abilities in Demand | Wage enhance for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Manufacturing & Operations | Director/ Supervisor/ Non-management | Massive Native/ World MNC HQ | Course of Optimisation, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Undertaking Administration, QA / QC, Technical Background in Engineering and Scientific | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | Excessive-Efficiency Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Formulation, Analytical Chemistry, Course of Growth | 10% to 12% |
| High quality | Director / Supervisor / Supervisor | Massive Native / World MNC HQ | High quality Administration Methods, Good Manufacturing Observe (GMP), Root Trigger Evaluation | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | High quality Auditing, SOP Growth, Provider Growth, Course of Enchancment | 8% to 12% |
| Advertising and marketing | Director / Supervisor / Non-management | Massive Native / World MNC HQ | Market Analysis, Strategic Advertising and marketing, Built-in Advertising and marketing, Advertising and marketing Technique Growth | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | Digital Advertising and marketing, Social Media Advertising and marketing, New Enterprise Growth | 10% to 12% |
| Gross sales | Director / Supervisor / Non-management | All | Gross sales Administration, Gross sales Processes, Buyer Relationship Administration (CRM), Gross sales Forecasting Instruments | 10% to 12% |
Industrial Manufacturing
| Division | Positions | Firm | Abilities in Demand | Wage enhance for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Manufacturing, Manufacturing & Operation | Supervisor/ Supervisor | All | Analytical Abilities, Technical Competency in Every Area of Manufacturing, Steady Enchancment | 10% to fifteen% |
| Gross sales | Gross sales Administration, a Mixture of technical information and gross sales | All | Gross sales Administration, Mixture of technical information and gross sales | 10% to fifteen% |
As you’ll be able to see, there appears to be one thing for nearly all people. These with onerous technical or scientific abilities, these with tender abilities in HR, these in gross sales and advertising, these in senior positions and people exterior of administration, in each giant firms and SMEs alike.
For those who command the fitting abilities and there’s a demonstrable scarcity for abilities such as you, you’ll be able to count on an incentive to modify from just below 10% all the way in which as much as 20% in essentially the most beneficiant firms.
With salaries in Singapore rising, on common, by single digits annually, leaping the boat continues to be tempting.
And even for those who like your present office, it doesn’t harm to buy round and discover out what you may be actually price, earlier than coming again to your employer to barter an even bigger elevate to remain moderately than go away. Good luck!
- Learn different articles we’ve written on job traits right here.
Featured picture: Rawpixel / depositphotos
