With the global uncertainty looming this year, organisations will likely be cautiously optimistic this year.

According to international recruitment consultancy Robert Walters at today's launch of its Global Salary Survey, many companies will be careful in making headcount decisions, with the global uncertainty one of the factors.

In its outlook this year, it foresees an influx of engineering, HR, secretarial support, IT, as well as sales & marketing roles for professionals across the FMCG, IT & telecommunications and industrial sectors. It attributes it to continued growth in these areas which are less immediately affected by global economic uncertainty.

It also sees an increasing trend in contracting as an option for employers who are experiencing challenges in securing approval for additional permanent headcount.

Ms Andrea Ross, Managing Director for Singapore, Malaysia & Vietnam, said: "We're seeing a 25 to 40 per cent increase in opportunities in contract compared to 2010 and 2011, both in IT and non-IT."

She continued: "It's a really big increase in contract roles and we're just trying to encourage Singaporeans to not always enter the market thinking permanent because they may be able to move into an industry or a role that's slightly different from what they would have done if they were going into the permanent side."

Its Global Salary Survey revealed that there is a strong demand for qualified and experienced local talent in the accounting and finance industry, with a decline in companies sourcing finance professionals from outside of Singapore if they don’t possess Asia Pacific experience.

Across the industries, the survey also showed that salary increases across industries are still expected.

The Robert Walters Salary Checker app may be used by employees who would like to gauge how much they are really worth.

ellenja@sph.com.sg