Singapore insurance remote share drops 7.5 points as hiring cools

Job postings across all sectors remain 12.0%, below year-earlier levels.

Singapore’s insurance sector recorded an overall hiring slowdown in February as remote work offerings turned slim, according to the Indeed Singapore Hiring Lab Report.

Total job postings in Singapore fell 4.5% in February, reversing gains from the previous three months and leaving postings 12.0% lower than a year ago. 

This pushed overall hiring activity to its lowest level since March 2021.

Despite the decline, labour demand remains relatively strong. 

Job postings are still 32% above pre-pandemic levels, and 92% of occupations continue to record higher demand than before February 2020.

Within this broader market, insurance stands out for a shift in working arrangements rather than demand levels. 

The share of job postings offering remote or work-from-home options in insurance fell by 7.5 percentage points compared with a year ago. This is one of the largest declines amongst all sectors.

Across the market, 8.6% of job postings mentioned remote work in February, only slightly higher than 8.4% a year earlier. 

This suggests that whilst remote work levels are broadly stable overall, employers in insurance are moving more roles back to office-based arrangements.

The data comes as Singapore’s labour market remains tight, with unemployment at 2% at the end of last year.

Even though job postings are down 45% from their peak in July 2022, demand is still high enough to support low unemployment.

Looking ahead, hiring is expected to ease further in 2026 as businesses respond to rising inflation and a weaker global outlook.