When we look for work we have very little to go on: a friend's "that field is impossible", a few dozen ads, and luck.
So I took every public job posting in Singapore on one day — 93,383 of them — and sorted and counted them. Thirty-eight occupations, each with its pay, its entry bar, its competition, and what employers mention most in the job description.
Three things I did not expect
- The biggest hiring category is engineers, not software. Engineers have 3,869 distinct openings; software engineering has 1,728.
- Office jobs have queues; blue-collar jobs have gaps. A product manager role draws a median of 22 applicants on the job board; a construction, nursing or driving role draws about one.
- Marketing is the most open office job for newcomers. 27% of marketing roles are entry-level, against 18% across the market.
Where the numbers come from
- Source: every public job posting in Singapore on 6 October 2026 — 93,383 postings from 15,073 companies.
- Reposts: companies often post the same job many times (one posted "Supervisor" over a thousand times). The same title from the same company counts once, leaving 63,469 distinct roles.
- Occupations: 38, by job title and function, covering about 79% of roles.
- Pay: every posting gives a monthly range; we take its midpoint, for full-time, permanent and contract roles only.
- Requirements: the share of postings that mention something — not a hard requirement. Matching is rule-based; no AI guessing.
- Applicants: direct applications on the job board only. Many blue-collar roles hire through agencies or walk-ins, so read these as a comparison.
This is a snapshot of hiring demand on one day, not an employment rate.
Which occupations are hiring most
The top five are engineers, B2B sales, accounting and finance, admin, and construction. Engineering, construction and manufacturing carry far more of Singapore's hiring than social media would suggest.
What it pays: the median and the middle half
The whole-market median is S$4,150 a month, and half of all roles pay between S$3,150 and S$6,000. The chart puts all 38 occupations side by side: the dot is the median, the bar the middle half, the dashed red line the market median.
At the top: product managers (S$8,750), data and AI (S$8,500) and software engineering (S$7,500). Watch the length of the bars too — operations management, legal and project management spread widely, so the same title can pay very differently by company and level.
How much more seniority pays
Manager-and-above roles pay 2.2 times the junior median, but they are only 16% of openings. Most of the market is mid-level (45%), at a median S$4,600.
How many people apply for one role
This is where the crowding is: product management, business analysis, compliance, HR, design, data and accounting draw ten to twenty-odd applicants per role. Beauty, nursing, architecture, driving, production, construction, technicians and kitchens draw almost none on the job board.
Part of that is that those trades hire through agencies and word of mouth. But it also means a hard qualification — nursing registration, a built-environment degree, a safety officer certificate — puts you in a much shorter queue than an office job.
The opportunity map
Put pay against openness to newcomers and the pattern is plain: top-left are well-paid roles that want experience (product, data, software, business analysis, project management); bottom-right are easy-to-enter roles with modest pay (retail, cleaning, warehouse, F&B). The top-right corner is nearly empty — well-paid jobs that need no experience barely exist in public postings.
B2B sales is the interesting exception: a median S$4,500, above the market, with 18% entry-level roles, close to the market average. For career-switchers it is one of the few doors that is both open and decently paid.
Full-time, contract or part-time
Most roles are full-time; 16% are contract or temporary. Only 10% mention flexible hours or remote work — remote is still the exception in Singapore's public postings.
What this means if you are looking
- Know which queue you are in. A product manager role has twenty-odd applicants; a B2B sales role has four. If your background fits both, your strategy can differ completely.
- Look at the range, not just the median. In many occupations the top quartile pays double the bottom one.
- Few office jobs take newcomers. Marketing, customer service, admin and teaching are the main doors — and how you write up that first job decides where you can go next.
- In some trades, the certificate is the ticket. SNB registration for nurses, a WSH qualification for safety officers, a PLRD licence for security, ECDA certification in early childhood: if you hold one, put it where it cannot be missed.
- What employers keep mentioning is what your CV should show. The five occupation pieces below list it for every occupation.
By occupation
- Office roles: Admin & office support, Accounting & finance, Human resources, B2B sales & business dev, Marketing & brand, Customer service & front desk, Operations & general management, Project managers, Business analysts, Legal, Compliance / KYC / AML
- Tech: Software engineering, Data, analytics & AI, IT infrastructure, support & security, Product managers (tech), Software testing, Graphic, UI/UX & visual design
- Engineering, construction & manufacturing: Engineers (mech / elec / process), Construction & site management, Quantity surveying & contracts, Architecture, interiors & BIM, Workplace safety officers, Technicians & facilities, Quality (QA / QC), Production & manufacturing
- Services & everyday economy: F&B service, Chefs & kitchen, Retail stores, Beauty, hair & wellness, Supply chain, logistics & procurement, Warehouse operations, Drivers & delivery, Cleaning & housekeeping, Security officers
- Healthcare, education & social services: Nursing, Healthcare & allied health, Teaching, early childhood & training, Social work & community
Data: Singapore public job postings, snapshot of 6 October 2026. Updated about every six months.