Finance sector projected to create 6,500 jobs in 2021, building on last year’s expansion

The employment outlook for the finance sector remains positive, with about 6,500 positions projected to be created in 2021, said Mr Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Tuesday (May 4).

Mr Menon was speaking at a webinar organised by MAS and the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) on “A Tech-Enabled Financial Sector – Is our workforce ready?”.

Sharing the results of an MAS-IBF employment outlook survey, he said that 91 per cent, or 6,000, of these jobs are permanent positions. 

Job growth in the finance sector has been strong over the past five years and the industry continued to add jobs last year despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, while the economy as a whole shed 180,000 jobs, the sector saw a net gain of 2,200 positions, said Mr Menon.

“The employment outlook for the financial sector in 2021 remains positive,” he said, adding that close to 800 financial institutions responded to the survey conducted late last year.

About a quarter of the jobs on offer are in technology roles, while a quarter are in consumer banking.