AI & Emerging Tech
Singapore tech hiring grows 3.8% as finance and manufacturing boost demand
Tech employment in these sectors rose 5.3% year-on-year, compared with 1.8% growth within the I&C sector.
Singapore’s tech workforce grew 3.8% year-on-year to 222,200 professionals in 2025, with finance, insurance, professional services and manufacturing among the sectors driving demand for technology talent, according to the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
The growth reflects the widening role of technology across Singapore’s economy, with non-information and communications (I&C) sectors accounting for 59% of the country’s tech professionals. Tech employment in these sectors rose 5.3% year-on-year, compared with 1.8% growth within the I&C sector.
Digital economy expands
Singapore’s digital economy continued to outpace broader economic growth in 2025, reaching S144.1billioninnominalvalueadded,upfromS136.5 billion in 2024.
The digital economy accounted for 19.3% of Singapore’s GDP, compared with 18.8% a year earlier, and grew 5.6% year-on-year in nominal terms. This was ahead of the country’s overall nominal GDP growth of 3.1%.
Digitalisation across non-tech industries generated S97billioninnominalvalueadded,upfromS93.6 billion in 2024. Finance and insurance contributed S39.1billion,followedbywholesaletradeatS29.3 billion.
The I&C sector recorded 6.1% growth in nominal value added to S$47.1 billion, increasing its share of GDP to 6.3% from 5.9%.
AI skills gain traction
The expansion of technology hiring has also been accompanied by rising demand for artificial intelligence capabilities.
The proportion of tech job postings requiring at least one AI skill increased from 14% in 2024 to 16.7% in 2025. Postings requiring at least two AI skills rose from 4.9% to 7.6%.
Demand increased across both I&C and non-I&C sectors, particularly in finance and insurance, professional services and manufacturing.
AI, data and cybersecurity were among the fastest-growing technology occupations, highlighting the growing need for specialised digital capabilities across traditionally non-tech industries.
Skills gap persists
While AI adoption is increasing, the report points to a gap between workers’ perceived need for AI capabilities and participation in relevant training.
Among small and medium-sized enterprises, 23.4% had adopted AI by 2025, while 12.1% planned to implement the technology within the following 12 months.
By 2026, 86% of workers reported using AI in their jobs. However, 68% said they needed to upskill or reskill in AI, while only 37% had attended AI-related training during the previous 12 months.
IMDA is expanding its TechSkills Accelerator programme under the National AI Impact Programme to address the gap. The initiative aims to upskill 40,000 tech professionals over three years in advanced areas including agentic AI deployment, alongside 100,000 non-tech professionals over the coming years.
Tech wages remain higher
Technology professionals continued to earn substantially more than the wider resident workforce.
The median monthly wage for resident tech workers increased from S7,950in2024toS8,000 in 2025, compared with S$5,000 for all resident workers.
The regulator said tech jobs "continued to offer good wages."
"The sector continued to demonstrate strong growth momentum in the Singapore economy," the regulator said, as digitalisation continues to reshape hiring and skills requirements across industries.
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