A few numbers decide most international hiring decisions. Some describe the market you are buying into. Others describe what a single hire will cost. A Singaporean company that knows both sets before it signs anything is in a much stronger position than one that learns them from invoices.
$3.6 billion USD: the size of the market you are buying from
NelsonHall, one of the analyst firms that evaluates employer of record providers, estimates the global EOR services market at about $3.6 billion USD in 2026. It expects that figure to grow by about 14.3% a year, reaching around $7.1 billion USD by 2031.
40%: the share of EOR revenue that comes from the mid-market
NelsonHall expects mid-market organisations to account for about 40% of EOR revenue in 2026. In its 2026 evaluation, it assessed providers specifically on mid-market capability for the first time, looking at organisations with between about 500 and 15,000 staff.
It also gives buyers a useful filter. NelsonHall placed Safeguard Global among its Leaders in both the Overall and Mid-Market EOR segments, and highlighted its specialisation in exactly that band of organisations. A provider built for enterprise clients with large internal teams may give a mid-sized company less support than it needs. A provider built for startups may not scale with it.
17%: what you pay as an employer in Singapore
Now the hire. A Singaporean employer contributes to the Central Provident Fund for citizen and permanent resident employees, at 17% of wages for employees aged 55 and below, with lower rates for older workers. Contributions apply to monthly ordinary wages up to a ceiling of S$8,000, the level it reached in January 2026 after a series of annual increases. Combined with the employee’s share, that single fund carries retirement, housing, and medical savings.
12% or 13%: the equivalent in Malaysia
In Malaysia, employers contribute to the Employees Provident Fund at 13% for employees earning RM5,000 or less a month and 12% above that. On top of EPF, the employer contributes to SOCSO for employment injury and invalidity cover and to the Employment Insurance System.
13: the months of pay in the Philippines
In the Philippines, a 13th month payment is a legal entitlement, not a discretionary bonus. It effectively adds a month’s pay to every regular employee’s annual cost. The employer also contributes to 3 separate schemes, SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG, each with its own registration and filing requirements.
$499 USD to $800 USD: the provider’s fee
Against those statutory costs, the employer of record’s fee is usually the smallest number in the calculation. Safeguard Global prices its service at $499 USD to $800 USD per employee a month, varying by country and service level, and a one-off setup fee and a 12-month minimum sit alongside it.
100%: the share of finance leaders who have already paid for getting it wrong
The final number comes from Safeguard Global’s 2026 research, in which Censuswide polled 400 CFOs across America and the UK. Not one respondent had escaped losses from noncompliance during international expansion. For 22%, the losses exceeded $1 million USD.
One role, three markets
Put those figures side by side for a single role. Take a customer success lead whose salary, converted, is similar in each country, and look only at what the employer adds on top.
| What the employer adds | Singapore | Malaysia | Philippines |
| Main retirement or savings scheme | CPF at 17%, up to the wage ceiling | EPF at 12% or 13% | SSS, PhilHealth, and Pag-IBIG, each with its own rate and cap |
| Other statutory schemes | Skills Development Levy | SOCSO and the Employment Insurance System | Covered within the 3 schemes above |
| Extra statutory pay | None | None | 13th month pay, adding about 8.3% to annual salary |
| Overtime basis | Employment Act, for covered employees | 45-hour week, 1.5 to 3 times the hourly rate | 8-hour day, at least a 25% premium |
Putting the numbers to work
The practical way to use these figures is to build every expansion case on the full cost of employment rather than on salary, and to choose a provider that will get the statutory costs right in every market you enter.
A forward look
The market numbers point one way. More mid-sized companies will hire internationally through employers of record, more providers will compete for their business, and the difference between providers will increasingly come down to what happens after onboarding.
For Singaporean companies, the next 2 years are likely to bring more hiring across Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia, often several markets at once. The numbers above will decide whether each of those hires is sustainable. Safeguard Global is built to make sure they are right from the first payslip, which is why it is the partner to talk to before the next expansion plan goes to the board.
