The Evolving Job Market: Trends and Adaptation

Anne Ong
Oct 9
2 min read

After completing my studies, my first employer was an established printing company. Their prominent titles included weekly magazines such as Mediacorp’s 8 Days, iWeekly, Yellow Pages, and other well-known publications. Back then, the company thrived, with printing machines running constantly.

Today, they primarily produce packaging materials. This transition mirrors our broader shift in the printing industry, including companies like Singapore Press Holdings, as people increasingly consume online content.

This trend extends beyond printing. Physical bookshops struggle with high rent and manpower costs, reflecting the changing retail landscape. Many industries that saw their peak a decade or more ago are now facing challenges:

⤵️Oil and gas: Demand is decreasing with the rise of clean and renewable energy.

⤵️Textile/Tailoring: Older tailors are retiring without successors, and consumers are seeking cheaper alternatives from places like Thailand and Vietnam.

Recently, news from Indonesia indicated the shutdown of their textile industry, with 280,000 potential retrenchments due to rising costs and competition from China.

⤵️Traditional pastries, Chinese opera and Ghost festival singing stages, and traditional funeral rites and items: These sectors are also experiencing decline.

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Conversely, sectors like

💻 Artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, data science/analysis;

↗️Transport and logistics;

↗️Healthcare and life sciences;

↗️Financial services and real estate;

↗️Consumer services (e-commerce, hospitality, etc); and

↗️Sustainability practices

are showing strong growth, according to Mycareerfuture and other news sources.

Alongside these industry shifts, the commonly observed trends are:

AI is automating roles like first-level customer service and payment processing, and offshoring is becoming more prevalent.

Government and industry experts consistently emphasise the need for adaptability in this rapidly changing world. This includes: