SINGAPORE: Singaporeans’ worries over job stability and rising costs have surfaced online amid the Middle East war, as countries scramble for oil and gas supply and contend with higher petrol prices.

On r/singaporefi, one Singaporean said, “I’m job hugging even harder”, with the majority sharing similar concerns over job stability.

One commenter said he was having a hard time sleeping, fearing for his job amid concerns over the economy.

“Would I get enough to pay for [our] mortgage? Would we still have electricity, given that SG imports everything? Food prices… will inflation hit and even cai png be out of reach to me?” he wrote.

Another said, “I cook for myself all the time. I can feel the food cost rising rapidly.”

Meanwhile, investors have become more cautious with global stocks wobbling amid the war. While the majority expect higher prices for almost everything in the short term, others were more positive.

One said, “I feel most of us in Singapore don’t have to lose sleep over this war but I have to admit that I do feel that my dollar has been smaller and I am hoarding more cash during this season for emotional and investment security. Other than that, we are very privileged to still go about our day-to-day life with little to no impact.”

“We’re actually more energy secure than Australia. Thailand and the Philippines are already rationing energy usage. We also have access to Malaysia if all else fails. I would say we’re good for 3-4 months from the point of total collapse of other nations,” another added.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong gave an update on the situation in the Middle East, saying, “The situation is highly uncertain, and we cannot predict how exactly events will unfold. But the risks are significant, and the worst may not yet be behind us.”

While he provided assurance that the city-state has plans, capabilities, and resilience to navigate economic pressures from the Middle East conflict, he also warned that the little red dot “cannot be insulated from such global upheavals – no country can, least of all a small island-nation like ours.”

Still, there is some relief from recent developments as the United States and Iran are on a two-week ceasefire, although uncertainty remains over whether it will hold. /TISG

Read also: Singapore braces for ‘hard times ahead’ as PM Wong warns of fallout from Iran war

This article (‘I’m job hugging even harder’: Some Singaporeans share how they’re navigating rising costs amid the Middle East war) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.

SINGAPORE: Job postings in Singapore fell 4.5% in February to their lowest level since March 2021, with childcare roles seeing the steepest decline at 29% among occupation groups, according to Indeed’s latest Singapore hiring lab report, which tracked percentage changes in job postings over the three months to Feb 28, 2026.

This comes as Singapore’s total fertility rate fell to a record low of 0.87 in 2025.

In an early March report by The Independent Singapore, a Singaporean mom shared four reasons why fewer Singaporeans may want more kids or choose not to have any at all.

She noted that it could be due to Singapore’s shrinking affordable home sizes, demanding work culture, rising education-related costs, and limited support for mothers who want to stay home to care for their children full-time, although the government recently announced that paid shared parental leave will be extended from six to 10 weeks starting this month, separate from the existing maternity and paternity leave.

In January, the global HR technology company expected job postings in the city-state to remain on a downward trend in the near term.

Aside from childcare roles, job postings also declined in dental (-23%) and civil physicians and surgeons (-18%), with education and healthcare among occupations where posting volumes have eased in recent months.

However, roles with high exposure to AI transformation, such as IT infrastructure and software development (+15%), recorded some of the strongest gains in job postings. Other occupations, including operations and support (+19%) and arts and entertainment (+16%), also saw notable increases.

Photo: Indeed

According to Indeed’s report, job postings in 92% of occupations are above their pre-pandemic baseline, and the job market remains “incredibly tight”, with the unemployment rate just 2% at the end of last year.

With the conflict in the Middle East triggering higher inflation and increased cautiousness from households and businesses, job opportunities are expected to “continue to moderate over the course of 2026.

“With the job market still tight and the economy growing strongly last year, Singapore is relatively well placed to absorb the impact of geopolitical uncertainty and a weaker global economy. Nevertheless, the economic outlook has certainly weakened in recent weeks,” the report added. /TISG

Read also: Singapore pulls in more investments but fewer jobs follow

This article (Childcare job postings in Singapore see steepest decline in February as fertility rate hits record low) first appeared on The Independent Singapore News.