The following report provides an update on the key trends that we have observed within the Sales & Marketing job market in Singapore. It identifies emerging themes across various industries and details the major factors impacting hiring and talent movement.

ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE

The Singapore economy expanded by 3.1% in the last three months of 2017, which can be largely attributed to robust growth in the manufacturing sector. This was higher than economists' expectations of 2.6% but moderate in comparison to the 5.4% expansion seen in the preceding quarter.
As mentioned, the key growth driver in the fourth quarter was the manufacturing sector, which has expanded 6.2% year on year. In particular, solid performance has been seen in the electronics and precision engineering clusters, which outweighed slower performances in the biomedical manufacturing and transport engineering sectors.
Conversely, the construction sector continued to slide downwards in the last quarter of 2017, shrinking by 8.5% on a year-on-year basis and extending upon a 7.7% decline in the previous quarter.
Thanks to an upswing in global growth, and solid manufacturing performance, the Singapore economy expanded by 3.5% in 2017 as a whole - more than double what was previously forcasted.

MARKET TRENDS

Some prominent and well-know B2C brands undertook restructuring activities in the final quarter of 2017. It is not all doom and gloom with some clients still hiring, but competition has become fiercer among candidates.
The beauty sector remains strong with clients hiring and fulfilling roles at the mid and senior-level.
Enhancing the customer experience through the implementation of in-store technology is still top of mind for many retailers. As a result, there will be more job openings in store design and UX design.
Travel retail, and airport retail in particular, has been experiencing rapid growth in the last couple of years. Industry experts expect this positive trend to continue. Reputable brands are capitalising on this and, as such, are expanding their SEA travel retail arms in Singapore. This growing trend had only fueled more positions in store design and development.
As data security becomes an increasingly critical commercial issue in today’s market, there has been a growing demand for solid cybersecurity professionals, especially from institutions in the public and private sectors. The infamous Equifax breach has become a sombre reminder to many C-level executives about the importance of the IT security function.
Change management has been another hot topic, which is not surprising given the amount of restructuring activity which has taken place by companies in recent times. As such, sales, marketing and communication professionals with expertise in change management projects are being favoured by employers as they are perceived to be more adaptable and resilient.

SALARIES & BONUSES

Professionals can expect salary increments of between 3 to 4% this year, while top performers can expect a higher uplift.
Bonuses of 1 to 2 months, on average, can be expected across most sectors.

THE FUTURE

The uplift in the Singapore economy will create more opportunities for sales & marketing professionals. In particular, there will be more SEO, SEM, digital and product related roles.
In terms of specific skill sets, employers will be searching for candidates with expertise in store design and development, cybersecurity, omnichannel marketing, marketing analytics and sales & product training.
Mobile payment technology will continue to reengineer the retail landscape.