OCBC Group plans to hire around 3,000 people here this year, it said yesterday.

About 2,100 of the jobs are full-time roles across the bank's entities, such as OCBC Bank, OCBC Securities, private-banking subsidiary Bank of Singapore and insurer Great Eastern.

These positions represent about 19 per cent of the group's workforce of 11,000 employees in Singapore.

The full-time openings are in areas such as wealth management, corporate banking, risk management, data analytics, operations and technology.

Group chief executive Samuel Tsien said: "By creating and protecting jobs, we contribute towards boosting disposable incomes and consumer confidence.

"Both are much needed to reignite the economy."

The move comes as data released yesterday showed that total employment fell by 25,600 in the three months to March 31 - the biggest quarterly contraction on record.

However, financial and insurance services were among a handful of sectors that recorded employment gains in the first quarter.

OCBC is also on the lookout to fill technology-related positions to facilitate its roll-out of digital solutions for customers and employees, as there has been a significant increase in the uptake of various digital channels and solutions amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The remaining 900 positions will be a mix of traineeships and internships. OCBC will offer more than 500 traineeships to university and polytechnic graduates in areas such as corporate banking, data and technology under the nationwide SGUnited Traineeships Programme introduced in March.

Under the programme, graduates can gain industry-relevant experience, develop skills and expand their professional networks to give them an edge in the job market once the economy recovers.

OCBC will also provide 400 internships to university and polytechnic students to give them insights into the banking and insurance industries.

On top of these openings, OCBC will continue to offer traineeships through the Technology in Finance Immersion Programme, which aims to help mid-career workers looking to switch to new tech areas within the financial services sector.

OCBC as well as DBS Bank and United Overseas Bank had earlier pledged that they would not cut jobs in response to the pandemic.

THE BUSINESS TIMES