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SINGAPORE — Amid the tech recession, salaries for Singapore's tech workers mostly fell in 2023, although wages jumped for certain roles such as data science and cybersecurity, according to a new report.
The occupations with the highest year-over-year wage increases were data scientists (11.3%), systems analysts (8.27%), cybersecurity engineers (8.24%), and quality assurance (8.01%).
The report, compiled by technology salary aggregator Nodeflair, takes into account more than 422,000 salary data points, including pay stubs, offer letters, and job advertisements, from companies of all sizes and industries in a variety of countries. There is.
Nordflair said the sharp rise in compensation for data scientists could be due to “increased interest in generative AI.”
Last year saw the AI boom accelerate with the launch of the viral chatbot ChatGPT in November 2022.
“Data scientists were the only occupation whose average salary increased significantly by 11.3%, demonstrating that companies are intentionally investing in attracting and retaining top talent,” the report said. ing.
It further added that Singapore launched and is in line with its updated AI Strategy last year, which outlines plans to expand the use of AI to boost the economy.
The report also said salaries for cybersecurity engineers have increased as cyberattacks increase in the Asia-Pacific region and organizations “prioritize cybersecurity measures.”
Asia Pacific was the third most targeted region in 2023, with malware and phishing the top incidents, according to IBM's 2024 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index released last month.
On a broader industry level, most technology salaries declined in 2023 due to a decline in technology funding in Asia, the Nordflare report said.
Asia's startup funding fell by 38% last year, the lowest level since 2015, due to a global tech funding downturn, according to data platform Crunchbase. Venture funding in Asia in 2023 was only $78.1 billion, down from $125.2 billion in 2022.
Software Engineer compensation in Singapore decreased by an average of 0.99% in 2023, compared to an average increase of 7.61% in 2022. Wages for solutions engineers and game engineers also decreased by 5.69% and 6.66%, respectively.
According to the report, salaries for blockchain engineers decreased by 5.41% “reflecting the crypto winter triggered by the collapse of FTX and Binance's Zhao Changpeng's resignation and admission to criminal charges.”
Global macro uncertainty has led to widespread layoffs, with more than 260,000 employees at around 1,200 tech companies losing their jobs last year, according to layoff tracking site layoffs.fyi.
In 2024, companies are expected to leverage cross-border remote hiring to reduce costs amid talent shortages.
Ethan Ang, CEO and co-founder of NodeFlair, said in the report: “As we look towards 2024, the technology industry will grapple with talent retention challenges amid the rise of generative AI and financial prudence. “I'm here,” he said.
