S'pore labour market growing, 1 in 2 job vacancies in 2025 are new roles: MOM

Singapore's labour market is growing and transforming as of the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said.

One in two job vacancies today are newly created roles, primarily driven by business expansion, the ministry added.

In a new joint release of the Labour Market Report (LMR) Fourth Quarter 2025 and annual Job Vacancies Report (JVR) 2025, MOM said there were more job vacancies in 2025 compared to 2024.

Firms are expected to remain cautious in their hiring decisions, with 43.3 per cent of firms expecting to hire in the next three months.

According to a MOM press release, early indications based on polls in January 2026 suggest a pick-up in hiring expectations.

Total employment growing

According to Q4's LMR, total employment expanded by 17,700, marking the 17th consecutive quarter of growth since Q4 2021.

For the full year of 2025, total employment grew by 55,500, an increase from 44,500 in 2024.

In 2025, resident employment growth of 11,600 was largely driven by financial services and health and social services.

Non-resident employment growth of 43,900 was driven by the hiring of work permit holders in construction.

It is understood that this increase in the hiring of construction workers is linked to projects, such as Changi Airport's Terminal 5 and Marina Bay Sands' (MBS) expansion plans.

Newly created positions, which were mostly due to business expansion, formed 49.3 per cent of all vacancies in 2025, according to the JVR.

Professionals, managers, executives, and technicians (PMET) roles remained abundant, with entry-level jobs requiring no prior experience making up three in 10 vacancies.

Unemployment & retrenchment rates remain low & stable

According to Q4's LMR, overall unemployment rates remained low and stable at 2 per cent, with residents at 2.9 per cent and citizens at 3 per cent.

The resident long-term unemployment rate remained at 0.9 per cent.

Younger residents aged 30 and below experienced a modest rise in unemployment from 5.6 per cent in September 2025 to 5.8 per cent in December 2025, a level last seen in March 2024.

Younger residents' long-term unemployment rate also increased slightly from 1.3 per cent in September 2025 to 1.5 per cent in December 2025.

Retrenchments were also low and within non-recessionary norms, with 3,690 or 1.5 retrenched per 1,000 employees in Q4.

For the full year of 2025, 14,490 people were retrenched or about 6.3 per 1,000 employees.

Impact of AI on workforce

MOM has also examined trends in PMET roles to assess whether concerns around artificial intelligence (AI) driven job displacement are borne out by data.

According to Q4's LMR, "the evidence does not point conclusively to broad-based displacement" but shows signs of restructuring that warrant continued monitoring.

The incidence of retrenchments among resident PMETs rose from 2024 to 2025, reaching 10.1 retrenched per 1,000 employees.

Residents employed in PMET jobs have continued to increase to 1,525,600 in 2025, a rise of 3.5 per cent.

Job vacancies among sectors with higher PMET job vacancies have also increased over the decade.

Hence, MOM's available data does not indicate a broad-based displacement of PMET roles, and public anxiety could be due to more differentiated hiring patterns and longer transitions.

Longer job-seeking time attributed to skills mismatch

According to the JVR, employers are increasingly prioritising skills and competencies over academic qualifications:

"Academic qualifications were not the main determinant in hiring for 79.6 per cent of vacancies in 2025, a further increase from 78.8 per cent in 2024."

Employers cited hiring efficiency, broader access to talent and improved employee performance as reasons for adopting a skill-based approach.

Hiring difficulties eased overall, with vacancies unfilled for at least six months declining from 19.4 per cent in 2024 to 17.1 per cent in 2025.

However, among PMET roles, vacancies unfilled for at least six months rose from 14.4 per cent in 2024 to 16 per cent in 2025.

A lack of specialised skills and relevant experience within roles such as data scientists, teaching and training professionals and civil engineers was listed by employers.

Growing need for AI literacy

MOM noted a growing need for AI literacy.

The ministry said the government will coordinate efforts through the National AI Council to align industry transformation and workforce upgrading.

This would include programmes through SkillsFuture and Infocomm Media Development Authority's (IMDA) TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA).

The institutes of higher learning are also working closely with sector agencies to keep curricula relevant, said MOM.

In a Mar. 20 Facebook post highlighting the key takeaways of the reports, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng acknowledged the potential challenges in the near future:

At the same time, we are monitoring the global situation closely. The evolving conflict in the Middle East will have resulting pressures on electricity prices and business costs. This will have knock-on effects on economies around the world, including Singapore.

We cannot shield ourselves entirely from these external disruptions. But we are prepared. We will stay vigilant, act early where needed, and stand firmly with Singaporeans—supporting workers, helping businesses adjust, and ensuring that our labour market remains resilient in times of uncertainty.

Support measures for employers & workers

According to MOM, employers can assess workforce skills on TalentTrack and TalentTrack+.

Employers can also use the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+), and 19 transformation maps to guide business transformation.

Employers can also tap on an additional S$100 subsidy for HR professional certification by the Institute for Human Resource Professionals till Sep. 30, 2026.

Workers can access career coaching and guidance services provided by WSG and NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).

For upskilling, workers can engage in SkillsFuture training programmes, such as the SkillsFuture Level-Up programme.

For fresh graduates, programmes include the GRaduate Industry Trainee (GRIT) for the 2026 cohort and Overseas Market Immersion Programme (OMIP).

For more information, the full report and technical notes are available here.

Top photo from Unsplash