Job seekers rejoice! Hiring sentiments in Singapore are expected to be on an upward trajectory this year.

According to a Hudson report, the net hiring intention in Singapore for H1 2016 stands at 35.8%, up from 32.1% in H2 2015.

The survey found that HR/recruitment professionals are the third most in demand roles this year (42%), just behind sales (49%) and financial services (45%).

Overall, a majority (53%) of employers are planning to maintain their current headcount, with 41% of employers actually planning to increase headcount in the new year.

Thankfully, only 6% are planning to decrease their headcount.

The main driver of this increase in headcount is found to be organisational growth (69%).

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With innovation driving their hiring activity, industries with the highest proportion of employers planning to add headcount are media/PR/advertising (59%), professional services (57%) and IT&T (53%).

With this many employers willing to hire, but are employees willing to change jobs?

“Employees in Singapore are focused on how to move onwards and upwards in their career, and most are willing to move if it’s a step in this direction. They are looking to sectors experiencing growth, such as finance and healthcare, as well as to other western, English-speaking countries that will give them a global CV,” said Emmanuel White, regional director, Hudson Singapore.

Indeed, the survey found that a majority of professionals will be following the mantra “new year, new job” with 34% actively looking for a new role and 40% passively seeking one – meaning that they are watching job ads and are open to being approached.

A majority of them (88%) would actually consider moving industries for the right job, with most preferring to move into the banking & financial services (23%), followed by healthcare & life sciences (17%).

More than half (65%) of these professionals stated they are even willing  to relocate for a new job, with Australia, the United States and China the top three choices.

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While money can attract potential employees, it is not what will retain them. The findings showed that disappointment with salary (13%) is only the third biggest driver for leaving behind lack of career progression (27%), followed by being bored and needing a new challenge (18%). 

Better work life balance (9%) and poor relationship with manager/direct boss (7%) rounded off the top five reasons.

“It is critical to get salaries right when hiring, but this is not the only consideration. Being very clear about career opportunities and how to progress towards them is very important, as is outlining how the organisation manages workloads and flexible hours. In order to retain people, employers need to focus on the non-financial factors just as much as salary budgets,” White said.

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