Supernews
April 9, 2024
In 2023, the technology sector in Singapore experienced a general decline in salaries, with a notable exception for certain specialized roles. According to a report by Nodeflair, which analyzed over 422,000 salary data points, the average compensation for most tech positions fell. However, data scientists, systems analysts, cybersecurity engineers, and quality assurance professionals saw their wages increase significantly. Data scientists led the pack with an 11.3% salary increase, attributed to a growing interest in generative AI following the launch of ChatGPT. Systems analysts, cybersecurity engineers, and quality assurance roles also enjoyed wage hikes of 8.27%, 8.24%, and 8.01%, respectively. The report highlighted the rising number of cyber attacks in the Asia-Pacific region as a key driver for the increased focus on cybersecurity measures.
The broader tech industry faced challenges beyond Singapore, with a global downturn in tech funding affecting salaries. Startup funding in Asia plummeted by 38% to its lowest level since 2015, with venture funding in the region dropping to $78.1 billion in 2023 from $125.2 billion in 2022. This contraction in funding led to a decrease in compensation for several tech roles in Singapore. Software engineers saw a modest decline of 0.99% in their salaries, while solutions engineers and game engineers experienced more significant drops of 5.69% and 6.66%, respectively. The report also noted a 5.41% decrease in blockchain engineers' salaries, linking it to the broader cryptocurrency market downturn.
The tech sector's challenges were further compounded by widespread layoffs, with more than 260,000 workers across nearly 1,200 tech companies losing their jobs in 2023. The layoffs continued into 2024, with an average of more than 780 layoffs each day. These job cuts were partly attributed to companies needing to free up resources for investment in AI technologies. Despite the strong performance of the tech-heavy Nasdaq index and a robust U.S. economy, the tech sector's layoffs underscore a shift in the industry's dynamics, focusing more on financial prudence and the future of work altered by technological advancements.
