Revealed: Singapore’s four highest paying industries

Banking and finance, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, information technology (IT) and semiconductors are the heavy-hitter industries in Singapore when it comes to paying top dollar, according to a new study.

The 2015 Singapore Salary Guide, released by Kelly Services on Wednesday, also tipped growth industries this year to include banking and finance, life sciences, supply chain, procurement and logistics and advance manufacturing.

Jobs in high demand were identified as application development consultants, supply chain managers, financial accountants, network and systems engineers and compliance managers – estimated to have a monthly salary of between $10,000 and $12,500.

The results come only weeks after a study revealed HR would also remain one of the most lucrative industries in Singapore the coming year.

Kelly Services Singapore vice president and managing director Mark Hall said despite anticipated GDP growth, Singapore’s labour market is expected to remain tight.

“[That’s] due to government measures in place to curb the demand for foreign workers to ensure more jobs for Singaporeans,” he said.

“Local employment grew 4.4% in 2014, with Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians’ (PMET) share of the resident workforce at 53% last year, having risen 7% in the last decade.”

With the government’s recent efforts such as the SkillsFuture initiative to continuously level the talent and skills required to spur growth in these key sectors, Singapore is well positioned to remain competitive on a global level, Hall said.

Earlier this month, the inaugural Human Resources Salary Guide by ZW HR Consulting Singapore anticipated HR would remain a lucrative profession with a continuing upward trend in terms of salaries.

HR business partners, regional compensation and benefits managers, talent acquisition managers, HRIS leaders, and professionals in talent management and organisation development formed the top five positions bringing the most “value added services” to business this year, according to the study.