Singapore's financial services sector created an average of 4,400 net jobs annually from 2021 to 2024, with more than 90% of these positions filled by local workers, according to MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun. The sector remains on track to meet the Industry Transformation Map 2025 target of 3,000 to 4,000 net jobs per year, driven by broad-based growth across banking, fund management, insurance, and payments.

Sector Growth and Employment Performance

Singapore's financial services sector grew 6.8% in 2024, more than doubling the 3.1% growth recorded in 2023, according to data released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on July 15, 2025. The sector's average annual growth rate from 2021 to 2024 stood at 4.7%, firmly within the Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 target range of 4% to 5% per annum set for the 2021–2025 period.

The headline employment figure—4,400 average annual net jobs created between 2021 and 2024—exceeds the upper end of the ITM 2025 target of 3,000 to 4,000 net jobs per year. MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun confirmed at a July 15 media briefing that more than 90% of these positions went to local workers, a distribution that underscores the sector's role in domestic labour market absorption.

Composition of Job Creation

MAS Deputy Managing Director for Markets and Development Leong Sing Chiong noted that new jobs were created across a range of roles, including technology-related positions as well as non-tech functions such as business, portfolio, and relationship management. This breadth suggests demand is not confined to any single subspecialty, which may provide resilience if specific categories face cyclical headwinds.

While MAS does not publicly break down the 4,400 annual figure by occupation or subsector, third-party data offer a partial snapshot. GlobalData's tracking for Singapore's financial services sector recorded 3,907 active job postings in January 2024, down from 5,118 in October 2023, with 1,201 new postings that month against 1,649 closures. These figures point to a dynamic—if seasonally variable—hiring environment, though they capture only a subset of total employment movements and should not be directly annualised against the MAS aggregate.

Sector Composition and Asset Growth

Growth was broad-based across financial segments, including banking, fund management, insurance, and activities auxiliary to financial services—the latter category largely comprising payments firms, according to MAS. The banking sector remained particularly resilient, with total assets growing at a compound annual growth rate of 6.8% over the 2021–2024 period.

In 2024, Singapore's assets under management crossed S$6 trillion for the first time, a milestone that reflects sustained capital inflows and the deepening of the city-state's fund management ecosystem.

Macroeconomic Risks and Outlook

Despite the strong 2024 performance, MAS Managing Director Chia Der Jiun signalled that growth is likely to slow in the coming years, describing the recent trajectory as "unusually strong." He identified three key external triggers that could transmit risk to Singapore's financial markets: escalation of trade conflict, geopolitical conflict, and heightened investor concerns over financial and fiscal policy.

The sector's reliance on global capital flows and trade-linked financial services makes it structurally exposed to these risks. Any material deterioration in trade relations between major economies, or a geopolitical event that disrupts cross-border investment, could compress both asset growth and employment momentum.

However, the ITM 2025 targets provide a medium-term planning framework. The 4,400 figure was achieved despite a volatile macroeconomic environment that included rising global interest rates, inflationary pressures, and supply chain disruptions in 2022–2023. That the sector outperformed its own job creation target during this period suggests underlying structural demand for Singapore-based financial services talent, even if year-to-year hiring may moderate.

Net Jobs (annual average) (jobs)Source: Orionmano Industries

Policy Context and Human Capital Development

The job creation figures sit within a broader policy framework that has prioritised workforce development in financial services. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, at the ITM 2025 launch event in September 2022, noted that over 3,000 Singaporeans held senior roles in the financial sector—an increase of more than 80% compared to 2016. This aligns with national initiatives such as SkillsFuture, a lifelong learning programme launched in 2015, which the World Bank has cited as a key contributor to Singapore's top ranking on its Human Capital Index.

Singapore's emphasis on domestic talent development in financial services is long-standing. The World Bank notes that by 1970, the country's development strategy had already shifted to include investments in human capital alongside services-sector expansion. The current employment data suggest that strategy continues to yield results: the 90% local hiring rate implies that the sector is both absorbing and advancing local workers, even as it competes globally for specialised roles.

Conclusion

The 4,400 average annual net jobs figure for 2021–2024 validates the ITM 2025 planning assumptions and demonstrates the sector's capacity to generate employment for local workers. However, the "unusually strong" characterisation by MAS, combined with identifiable external risks, suggests that maintaining this pace will require continued policy attention and proactive risk management. For investors and industry participants, the key question is whether the structural drivers—asset growth, technological adoption, and regional financial deepening—can sustain job creation above 3,000 per year even as the cyclical tailwinds fade.