Total employment in S'pore grew 10,400 in Q2, 2025, up from 2,300 in Q1: MOM

Job vacancies continue to remain high, and job openings likely to be filled by residents accounted for seven in 10 of all vacancies, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a press release on Sep. 17.

More statistics on the country's labour market for the second quarter of 2025 were shared as well.

Total employment grew

Total employment grew by 10,400 in the second quarter of 2025, which is an improvement from the first quarter's 2,300.

This comprised an increase of 2,600 residents (Singaporeans and PRs) and 7,800 non-residents.

Resident employment continued to expand in growth sectors such as Health & Social Sciences, though there were signs of labour market softening in some outward-oriented sectors such as Professional Services and Information & Communications.

Non-resident employment growth also increased, driven by an increase in Work Permit holders in jobs such as construction labourers, bus and truck drivers.

Unemployment and long-term unemployment rates remained low

Overall unemployment rates in June 2025 stayed low at two per cent, while resident long-term unemployment rates also remained stable at 0.9 per cent.

However, MOM found that unemployment rates for younger residents below the age of 30 increased for the first time this year, from 5.4 per cent to 5.7 per cent, though it remains in the pre-recessionary range of 4.9 to 6.1 per cent.

According to the Director of MOM's Manpower Research & Statistics Department Ang Boon Heng, the increase in unemployment rates mirrored difficulties among fresh graduates in securing jobs.

He added that the increase could also be due to a higher number of fresh graduates entering the labour market, as compared to the past cohort.

Job vacancies remain high

Though job vacancies have eased, they continue to remain high.

The number of job vacancies decreased from 81,100 in March 2025 to 76,900 in June 2025, with the job vacancy rate decreasing from 3.2 per cent to 2.9 per cent correspondingly.

According to an MOM spokesperson, the decline in job vacancies suggests that companies are adopting more prudence in hiring, suggesting more caution among employers to avoid retrenching workers.

Nonetheless, there remained more vacancies than the number of jobseekers, with the ratio standing at 1.35.

Additionally, MOM stated that job openings that are likely to be filled by residents accounted for seven in 10 of all vacancies.

Job vacancies in growth sectors, typically filled by residents like Financial & Insurance, Professional Services, and Information & Communications, remained robust.

Fresh grads may stand a better chance of securing roles in growth sectors

Surveys done by MOM, job advertisement sites and MyCareersFuture, found that fresh graduates may have better prospects of securing roles in growth sectors such as Health & Social Services, as of June 2025.

The share of entry-level job vacancies improved in Health & Social Services and Information & Communications, and was broadly stable in Professional Services.

Financial & Insurance Services remained less accessible to fresh graduates.

The data provided pertains to private sector jobs only.

Number of retrenchments decreased but re-entry rates post-retrenchment also declined slightly

The incidence of retrenchments remained low at 1.4 per 1,000 employees, as the number of retrenchments declined, currently standing at 3,540 in June 2025.

However, the resident re-entry rate into employment within six months post-retrenchment declined slightly from 60.6 per cent in the first quarter to 56.3 per cent in the second quarter.

According to Ang, residents who are retrenched usually take longer to go back into the workforce due to salary expectations and taking time to undergo skills training.

The decline in re-entry rate was led by non-PMETs.

Despite the decline, MOM found that the re-entry outcomes of those retrenched tend to improve over time. In the second quarter of 2025, the re-entry rate was higher at 71.2 per cent for the cohort that was retrenched a year ago, implying that more managed to find jobs after a longer search.

The number of employees placed on short work-week or temporary layoff also remained low at 620 in the second quarter.

Economic outlook remains uncertain

Though the labour market continues to and is expected to remain resilient, MOM noted that Singapore's economic outlook for the remainder of the year remains clouded by uncertainty, with the risks tilted to the downside.

Global uncertainty is expected to weigh on hiring and wages, particularly in outward-oriented sectors.

Labour market adjustments are expected to come mainly through slower hiring and moderated wage growth, as shown by the easing of the net employment outlook for the third quarter of 2025 to 41.8 per cent in June 2025 from 42.4 per cent in March 2025.

The proportion of firms that plan to hire in the third quarter of 2025 has also declined to 43.7 per cent in June 2025, down from 44 per cent in March 2025.

Wage expectations have also softened, with fewer firms anticipating wage increases.

Retrenchments are also expected to rise modestly, but will continue to remain low.

Global uncertainties call for pre-emptive measures

Amid economic headwinds, pre-emptive action is required to stay resilient and adaptable.

Employers can tap existing government initiatives such as the Career Conversion Programmes, Mid-Career Pathways Programme, as well as the Support for Job Redesign under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG-JR) to up-skill workers and enhance productivity.

From 2026, the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit will be refreshed with S$10,000 worth of credits to use on workforce transformation programmes, while unused credits will remain available for employers to offset programme costs.

Workers can also build career resilience and prospects through Career Health SG, which offers tools like CareersFinder on MyCareersFuture, career coaching, and SkillsFuture training programmes such as the Level-Up initiative.

The SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, which was launched earlier this year, provides up to $6,000 in temporary financial support for the involuntarily unemployed.

To support fresh graduates, the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT) recently launched the GRaduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT), and is expanding career guidance and HR certification support.

SERT will continue to monitor developments and introduce further measures to support businesses and workers as needed.

Top photos via Canva, NTU