SINGAPORE: Job safety for Singaporeans could really feel uneven as 2026 begins. However it additionally relies upon closely on business, function, and work setup. That’s the message from ManpowerGroup’s World Expertise Barometer 2026, launched on January 28 2026. The survey lined nearly 14,000 employees throughout 19 international locations, together with Singapore, Vulcan Put up reviews.
In line with the report, 54% of employees in Singapore really feel safe of their jobs for the following six months. That determine trails the worldwide common of 64%, regardless that unemployment right here stays regular at about 3%. The hole suggests confidence is formed much less by headline labour numbers and extra by the place folks work.
The survey grouped employees into eight business sectors. Job safety perceptions assorted broadly between them. Communications Companies stood out for uncertainty. Employees there felt the least safe about maintaining their present roles. On the identical time, almost all believed they may discover new jobs rapidly.
About 90% of these employees stated they had been assured of securing a brand new employer inside six months, based on ManpowerGroup. That distinction issues. Decrease job stability doesn’t all the time imply weak demand for abilities. It could possibly imply quicker motion between employers. Different sectors confirmed steadier sentiment. Employees in additional conventional or operational roles reported greater confidence in staying put, at the least within the close to time period.
Vitality and Utilities had been among the many least prone to be thought-about safe. This was notable due to the sector’s significance and its regulated standing. The findings recommend the simmering of a shift in public expectations. Stability is not assumed, even in important industries.
Position seniority additionally performed an element. Decrease-level workers felt extra assured about maintaining their jobs than senior leaders. Administrators and senior executives, nonetheless, had excessive confidence of their possibilities of securing new roles if displaced.
Confidence in job safety shifted to employability. This suggests that job expertise supplied choices, not certainty. Senior roles had been greater threat however supplied wider exits.
The place folks work additionally formed how protected they felt. On-site employees reported the best confidence in maintaining their jobs. These required to be bodily current felt most safe. Hybrid employees sat within the center. Totally distant workers had been the least sure about their employment over the following six months.
Distance seems to weaken perceived attachment to the function, at the same time as versatile work stays well-liked. But the sample flipped when requested about discovering new jobs. Distant employees had been essentially the most assured about securing substitute roles if wanted. Round two-thirds believed they may accomplish that with out a lot bother.
On-site employees confirmed decrease confidence on this entrance. Stability got here with fewer perceived alternate options. In line with ManpowerGroup, this trade-off is constant throughout markets. Flexibility usually brings alternative, not safety.
Taken collectively, the outcomes level to stress in as we speak’s labour market. The extra freedom and seniority a task affords, the much less predictable it turns into. The extra fastened and location-based a job is, the safer it feels. It’s related now as a result of Singapore’s workforce remains to be discovering its footing after years of upheaval. Employees are balancing stability with mobility in actual time.
The message for employers is that, within the present job safety alone won’t be sufficient to retain good employees. Clear pathways and talent relevance are equally vital.
For employees, the survey affords a actuality examine: feeling insecure doesn’t all the time sign hazard. It could even sign alternatives, as the info now exhibits that confidence as we speak rests much less on holding a task and extra on having the ability to transfer on.
In early 2026, job safety in Singapore is not one story. It’s eight industries, many roles, and a number of other trade-offs.
