SINGAPORE: A study published on Thursday (Feb 26) shows that more than seven in 10 workplaces in Singapore struggle with hiring skilled talent, with AI skills being the hardest-to-find in the city-state.
However, ManpowerGroup’s 2026 Global Talent Shortage Survey also revealed that in terms of overall skills, talent shortages in Singapore have begun to decrease. In 2025, 83 per cent of Singapore employers felt the manpower crunch, and this year, that figure has gone down to 71 per cent, the lowest it has been since 2021. The average around the globe, meanwhile, is 72 per cent.
Singapore’s talent shortage falls below that of Japan (84 per cent), Germany (83 per cent), and India (82 per cent). Among the 41 countries surveyed by ManpowerGroup, China has the lowest talent shortage, 48 per cent.
Wanted: AI skills
Significantly, the study shed light on which skills in particular are the hardest for employers to find. This year, AI model and application development and AI literacy took first and second place in the list of skills that workplaces had the most difficult time finding in Singapore, at 26 and 25 per cent, respectively.
Employers also reported talent shortages in engineering (24 per cent), operations and logistics (19 per cent), and sales and marketing industries (19 per cent).
Last year, IT and data skills ranked first. However, they are now ranked in seventh place at 17 per cent.
The AI talent shortage holds true not only in Singapore but elsewhere in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East (APME).
“The rise of AI has fundamentally reshaped both the skills landscape and the hiring process” in the region, noted the Regional President for Asia Pacific & Middle East, ManpowerGroup, François Lançon.
Linda Teo, the Country Manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore, said that AI is reshaping the nature of work, rather than replacing it.
“The rise of AI capabilities to the top of Singapore’s hardest-to-find skills list underscores how rapidly workforce demands are evolving. As AI becomes embedded across a wider range of roles, developing AI literacy will be essential so people can use these tools with confidence and sound judgement,” she said.
ManpowerGroup’s study shows that the Information sector has the highest talent shortages, with over three in four employers facing challenges in filling roles. Employers in the Public Sector, Health & Social Services, Construction & Real Estate, Finance & Insurance, and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services industries also face similar challenges. /TISG
