APAC Labour Market Update - February 2025
APAC Monthly Commentary - February 2025
This commentary builds upon the State Of The Labour Market newsletter, with APAC-specific data and commentary on the global metrics that have been shared there.
LinkedIn’s annual jobs research shows that a large proportion of workers are keen to look for new opportunities this year. Globally, 58% are keen to look, and this number is even higher in APAC (59% for Australia, 68% for Singapore, and 82% for India). But what do the market conditions look like for job seekers?
In this edition of APAC Labour Market Update, we focus on labour market tightness across different sectors in Australia, India, and Singapore, and what it means for job seekers.
Labour Market Tightness (LMT)
Labour market tightness reflects the balance between the supply and demand for workers. A tight labour market means that there are more job openings than job applicants. This typically means more favourable conditions for job seekers - there is increased competition among employers for talented workers, and greater bargaining power for workers. Meanwhile, a loose labour market means the opposite - there are more job applicants than job openings, and employers have a larger pool of candidates to choose from.
LinkedIn's labour market tightness indicator measures the ratio of the number of paid jobs to the number of active applicants on LinkedIn. Comparing the degree of tightness across industries within a country allows us to see which industries currently have the most favourable conditions for job seekers, in each country.
Labour markets are looser for Entertainment and Real Estate
Compared to the average in Australia, India and Singapore, there's a consistent trend that labour markets are looser for the Entertainment and Real Estate sectors, and tighter for healthcare and professional services sector.
In Australia, the degree of labour market tightness in the Entertainment sector is 0.5x of the average degree of tightness across all industries, meaning the number of jobs per applicant is half that of the average of all industries, and indicating less favourable job seeking conditions. A similar trend appears for Entertainment in India (0.7x), as well as Real Estate sector in Australia (0.6x), India (0.7x) and Singapore (0.7x). The high inflation conditions of the past year have resulted in reduced consumer spending in discretionary goods such as entertainment services like movies. Office rentals have also been slow to pick up post-pandemic, and lingering high interest rates are dampening the real estate sector.
Labour markets are tighter for Healthcare and Tech
In contrast, labour markets are tighter for the Healthcare sector. The degree of tightness in the Healthcare sector for Australia is 2.8x of the average tightness across all industries, meaning that the number of jobs per applicant is nearly three times that of the average of all industries, and indicating more favourable job seeking conditions. Similar trend appears for Healthcare in Singapore (1.9x for Singapore). Aging populations are increasing the demand for healthcare services, but the sector requires specialised skills and extensive training, limiting the supply of qualified workers and contributing to labour market tightness.
The Technology sector is also showing similar trends in India (1.9x) and Singapore (1.4x). As businesses adopt AI, cloud computing, and cybersecurity solutions, the need for specialised tech workers has surged. However, the supply of qualified candidates remains limited due to the fast-evolving nature of technology, requiring continuous upskilling and advanced technical expertise.
Conclusion
LinkedIn's research shows that a large proportion of workers are keen to look for new opportunities this year, but analysis of labour markets reveals that the supply-and-demand conditions vary across different sectors.
While industries like Healthcare and Technology face talent shortages, creating strong job-seeking conditions, Entertainment and Real Estate experience weaker demand, making job competition more intense. These shifting dynamics highlight the importance of skills development and adaptability for workers, as well as the need for businesses to refine their hiring and retention strategies to navigate evolving labour market conditions.