Singapore firms favour specialist skills & contractors

Morgan McKinley has published its 2026 Singapore Salary Guide, describing a labour market where employers are keeping permanent hiring tight and concentrating spending on scarce specialist skills.

Permanent recruitment has stabilised, but most hires are replacements and each role is assessed against business priorities. The guide also points to stronger use of contract and project-based staff for transformation work, system migrations, and data and AI initiatives.

Across functions, it highlights continued shortages in AI, cybersecurity, cloud and data roles. It also cites sustained demand for financial planning, ESG reporting and finance transformation specialists, alongside ongoing hiring in financial crime, sanctions, credit risk and Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) regulatory reporting.

Pay-rise budgets remain measured overall. However, the guide reports targeted salary premiums for hard-to-hire skill sets, particularly where employers face regulatory deadlines, cyber-risk exposure, cloud migrations or data modernisation programmes.

Shift to selectivity

The guide describes permanent hiring as "replacement-led". Employers are screening roles more closely and prioritising hires tied to revenue, risk management, compliance and technology delivery. This has increased competition for candidates who can start quickly in specialist positions.

Contracting is becoming a larger feature of workforce planning. Organisations are using contractors for discrete work across programme delivery, ERP and CRM upgrades, cybersecurity remediation and cloud implementation. Demand is also rising for project leaders with data and AI literacy, with rates remaining elevated for these profiles.

This approach balances capability building with cost control. Permanent teams remain central to core operations and control functions, while temporary hiring covers workload peaks and time-bound change programmes.

Finance and governance

In accounting and finance, hiring remains steady but is increasingly focused on analytical and business-facing roles. Automation and offshoring continue to reduce demand for transactional positions, while demand is stronger for Financial Planning and Analysis managers, finance business partners, and ESG and sustainability reporting specialists.

Finance transformation and systems leads are also among the most sought-after roles. Risk and compliance managers continue to feature in demand, with selective pay increases attached to these positions.

In risk and compliance, hiring remains resilient, driven by regulatory obligations and rising governance expectations. Priority hires include sanctions professionals, complex KYC and AML specialists, credit risk specialists and regulatory advisory professionals. Employers are also showing greater interest in candidates who combine regulatory expertise with data, AI and technology-driven compliance skills.

Banking priorities

In banking and financial services, front-office recruitment remains active but is still largely replacement-led, with employers seeking experienced hires who can deliver quickly.

Corporate infrastructure recruitment has slowed, while core control functions remain stable. Compliance, risk and regulatory reporting continue to be central. The guide also notes increased contract hiring across financial crime, KYC and regulatory reporting. Roles in focus include MAS regulatory reporting specialists, financial crime compliance hires, and credit, market and operational risk managers.

HR and commercial roles

HR is shifting away from administrative generalist positions towards strategic roles and digital skills. Demand is strongest for HR business partners, rewards specialists, HRIS and HR technology specialists, and HR data analysts. Budgets are flat to modestly positive, with targeted uplifts where skills are scarce.

In sales and marketing, hiring is moving towards "precision" recruitment for revenue-critical positions and digital roles. Priority hires include performance marketing managers, marketing analysts, technology sales managers, eCommerce and growth managers, and CRM and marketing automation specialists. Salary budgets remain steady, with premiums for niche digital and performance skills.

Supply chain discipline

Hiring in supply chain and procurement remains steady but more disciplined, reflecting ongoing cost pressures and supply-network restructuring. Employers are prioritising resilience, regional visibility and supplier diversification rather than expanding transactional headcount.

Demand is strongest for regional procurement managers, strategic sourcing specialists, supply chain planning managers, and logistics and distribution leaders. Contract hiring is also active for ERP upgrades, process redesign and short-term transformation programmes.

Tech competition

Technology hiring remains competitive despite tighter controls, with shortages persisting across AI, data, cybersecurity and cloud. Demand is coming from across industries, not only technology firms, keeping competition high for the same talent pools.

Most in-demand roles include AI and machine learning engineers, cybersecurity specialists, cloud engineers and architects, data engineers and data scientists, and ERP and digital transformation project managers. Employers are also placing greater emphasis on professionals who combine technical depth with stakeholder management and digital transformation experience.

Ken Ong, Managing Director at Morgan McKinley Singapore, said: "Singapore's talent market is defined by both scarcity and sophistication. Skills gaps in AI, cybersecurity and sustainability remain pronounced, yet candidates are approaching career decisions with greater scrutiny - benchmarking salaries, assessing flexibility and seeking roles with long-term purpose."

The guide also points to a greater focus on skills-based hiring and internal development. Organisations are investing more in upskilling and reskilling in response to talent shortages and the pace of change in technology and regulation.

"As we look to 2026, success will hinge on how effectively organisations use talent as a strategic differentiator. That means prioritising skills over credentials, combining permanent and flexible workforce models, and investing meaningfully in upskilling. Singapore's future competitiveness will depend not only on innovation, but on the people who drive it." Ong said.