More than 1,100 jobs are going a-begging at a job fair on Wednesday in the Northwest district.

These jobs are a result of business expansion and the shortage of full-time local workers, said many of the 19 employers at the fair.

Among them is ThaiExpress Concepts, which runs six types of restaurants, from the Thai Express chain to Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe, which serves street food from Hong Kong and Macau.

The company is seeking 150 service and kitchen crew plus managers, said its head of human resource, Ms Nica Foo.

It is hardly fazed by the impending economic slowdown.

Said Ms Foo: 'People still have to eat during a recession. Competition will be more intense and that's when we prove ourselves.'

The confident company is gearing up to open two eateries by next month, after opening a Shanghainese restaurant Tang Dian Wang at Suntec City on Monday, and is gearing up to open two more by next month.

Ms Foo told The Straits Times: 'People still have to eat during a recession. Competition will be more intense and that's when we prove ourselves.'

Also expanding and hiring are the Ajisen Ramen chain of Japanese restaurants, and the McDonalds fast-food chain.

Ajisenis due to open five new outlets by the end of this year, with vacancies for 50 waitresses or waiters, kitchen helpers and team leaders, said area manager Jenny Lai. McDonalds will open two new outlets by then and will need 100 more crew members, said its recruitment specialist Irene Tay.

The BreadTalk Group, on the other hand, is looking further into the horizon, expecting a rush for workers in the food and beverage industry when the integrated resorts (IRs) start opening their doors from next year.

It is hiring for some 40 positions at its BreadTalk bakeries, Din Tai Fung restaurants and Food Republic food courts.

The food and beverage (F&B) industry's healthy appetite for workers is in contrast to the cautious hiring sentiments in other industries.

Only 37 per cent of executives here will hire more mid- to senior-level professionals in this last quarter, according to a survey released on Wednesday by recruitment firm Hudson.

This is down from 43 per cent in the third quarter. But the outlook could be worse as the survey of 800 executives was done in late August, before the global financial turmoil and the announcement that Singapore is in a technical recession.

Employers expect the full impact of an economic slowdown to be felt in the coming months.