SINGAPORE — Employment may have shrunk in the services sector with stricter foreign-labour quotas, but businesses in the industry are still looking to fill vacancies in operational and frontline positions.

The long hours and weekend shifts typical of the industry are driving staff away, and there is a constant need to hire to keep businesses going, said employers in the retail, food and hospitality sectors interviewed by TODAY. At the same time, market challenges, such as falling tourist arrivals, are making employers cautious about raising headcount, with some offering part-time positions instead.

The labour report by the Ministry of Manpower released on Monday showed that the number of people employed in retail trade as well as accommodation and food services fell by 4,800 and 1,800, respectively, in the first quarter of the year.

Executive director of Singapore Retailers’ Association Anthony Gan said the fall “may in large part be attributable to the foreign-worker levy and quota, which have forced many to let go of foreign workers”. The services industry has to comply with lower dependency ratio ceilings (DRC) for existing foreign workers by next month.

He also noted that the retail industry is adapting to employees’ preferences for part-time work. The MOM figures largely capture full-time employment, which may explain the drop.

Sales have also been weak due to falling tourist arrivals. Coupled with hiring challenges, retailers are choosing to downsize or terminate unfavourable store leases, said Mr Gan.

Home-Fix DIY managing director Low Cheong Kee cited business challenges such as a surge in the number of shopping centres and the advent of e-commerce. He has closed a few outlets in the past two years because of their poor showing, while staff have resigned or have been redeployed.

Referring to the DRC, Mdm Kweh Leng Kiam, managing director of Pines Food Services, said the firm could not hire foreign workers if it does not employ Singaporeans, but Singaporeans are unwilling to take on roles such as cleaning. Hence, overall employment in the food-and-beverage industry has fallen. The lack of manpower has also hampered growth. “We also cannot move forward without the whole team,” she added.

Mr Patrick Fiat, general manager of Royal Plaza on Scotts, said the company is running on 6 per cent less headcount than five years ago. The workforce for its hotel and serviced residences is down 9 per cent from last year.

“The cost of doing business is increasing and room rates are not adjusted to match up,” said Mr Fiat, adding that the firm is investing in automation to reduce its reliance on manpower and boost productivity.

YTC Hotels Singapore director of human resource Lina Chan said the hotel business had been hit by the increasing number of establishments. The disasters involving Malaysian airlines last year have also affected travel, as tour packages tend to cover Singapore and Malaysia.

Despite the uncertain business outlook, some vacancies must be filled. Royal Plaza Group has positions in its front office and housekeeping, among others. Genki Sushi’s director of corporate development James Chan added that domestic spending on food had been positive and workers would be needed for coming outlets.

There are also vacancies in retail, but Mr Gan expects overall employment levels to continue to fall, given that foreign-manpower policies are set to stay, while attracting new talent remains a challenge.