Remote job demand in Singapore’s insurance sector has climbed sharply, even as the broader labour market continues to cool.
According to the report titled, 'October 2025 SG Labour Market Update: The Latest Remote Work Trends', from Indeed’s Hiring Lab, remote roles in the insurance industry rose 15.3% year-on-year, signalling a growing shift toward flexible work in a traditionally office-centric sector.
Overall, remote work offerings remain limited across Singapore.
In October, only 8.2% of job postings mentioned remote or work-from-home options, up modestly from 7.7% a year earlier.
Remote roles were most prevalent in IT infrastructure, operations and support (17.2%), followed by insurance and sales (14.9%). Most other job categories recorded less than 5% of postings offering flexible arrangements.
The past year has seen sharp variations in remote demand across professions. Marketing, medical information and legal roles recorded the largest increases, while architecture, beauty and wellness, and hospitality and tourism reported declines. Indeed attributes these shifts to changing employer policies and heightened competition for talent in a tight labour market.
Despite the growing appetite for remote work in some sectors, Singapore’s overall job postings fell 3.1% in October, marking the eighth consecutive monthly drop.
The decline continues a three-year downward trend since the post-pandemic hiring surge.
Even so, Singapore’s labour market remains resilient.
Job postings at the end of October were still 32% above pre-pandemic levels, keeping unemployment low. “The post-pandemic job boom was so large that even with three years of declines, postings remain sufficiently high,” the report noted.
Most occupations also continue to see stronger demand than before COVID-19. Indeed’s data shows that 86% of job categories remain above their February 2020 baseline.
Pharmacy posted the largest gain, up 181% from pre-pandemic levels, followed by sport (122%) and hospitality and tourism (119%). Veterinary, education and training, and medical roles also continued to show strong demand.
In contrast, job postings in driving, childcare, arts and entertainment, and beauty and wellness remain below pre-pandemic levels.
Recent hiring momentum has been mixed. Over the last three months, retail postings surged 17%, while hospitality and tourism rose 13.1%. Healthcare roles, including physicians, surgeons, therapists, medical technicians and medical information specialists, also gained traction.
These improvements, however, were offset by declines in childcare, driving, community and social services, installation and maintenance, sports, and insurance.
The data suggests that while remote work continues to make slow but steady progress in Singapore, sector-specific shifts and a cooling labour market are reshaping job demand across the economy. "There are no signs yet that job posting volumes will stabilise. Despite this, the Singapore labour market remains tight, with the unemployment rate low at 2.0% and skill shortages still common," the report noted.