S'pore labour market growing, even though retrenchments up, job vacancies fall: MOM report

Singapore’s labour market continued to expand in the second quarter of 2026 as economic growth improved.

Total employment increased by 11,400, marking the 19th consecutive quarter of growth.

This is an increase from 9,400 in the first quarter of 2026, and 10,400 in the second quarter of 2025, according to the second quarter labour market report by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Sep. 21, 2026.

However, the resident employment growth of 2,200 in the second quarter of 2026 was a slowdown from the previous quarter, which saw 5,400 jobs added.

Resident employment grew mainly in domestic-oriented sectors.

This included transportation and storage, public administration and education and health and social services, as well as outward-oriented sectors, such as professional services, financial services and information and communications.

Non-resident employment growth was driven by work permit holders in construction and manufacturing, with 9,200 jobs added.

Unemployment rates remained relatively low

Unemployment rates, meanwhile, have remained relatively low as of June 2026.

It was at 1.9 per cent overall, 2.9 per cent for residents and and 3 per cent for citizens.

However, resident long-term unemployment rates increased to 1 per cent in June 2026, up from 0.9 per cent in March 2026.

In the Singapore context, long-term unemployment refers to persons aged 15 years or older who have been unemployed for 25 weeks or more.

More retrenchments

The second quarter of 2026 also saw a rise in retrenchment rates.

It now sits at 4,620, or 2 retrenched per 1,000 employees, up from 3,830, or 1.6 retrenched per 1,000 employees.

The rise in retrenchment was driven by business reorganisations and restructuring in outward-oriented sectors like manufacturing, information and communications, and financial services, said MOM.

Retrenched workers also took longer to find new jobs.

The proportion of retrenched residents who found employment again within six months fell to 54.9 per cent in the second quarter, down from 60.7 per cent in the first quarter.

On the other hand, those who re-entered employment within 12 months increased slightly, from 69.4 per cent to 69.8 per cent.

More vacancies than unemployed persons

Singapore's labour market remains relatively tight, said MOM.

Job vacancies dipped from 73,300 in March 2026 to 68,600 in June 2026, owing to a fall in PMET vacancies in financial services and information and communications.

Entry-level PMET vacancies have remained largely stable, accounting for 45.3 per cent of all job vacancies.

PMET refers to professionals, managers, executives and technicians, a collective term to describe Singapore's skilled workers.

However, there were still more job vacancies than unemployed persons.

There were 1.48 vacancies per unemployed person in Q2.

MOM said the July 2026 business expectations point towards a positive but cautious labour market outlook.

About 48.7 per cent of firms intended to hire in the next three months in July, an increase from 43.9 per cent in June.

But the proportion of firms intending to raise wages dipped slightly from 29.3 per cent in June to 27.9 per cent in July.

Both hiring and wage expectations remained below their February 2026 levels.

Support for employers and workers

The labour market has remained resilient, said MOM, as there was continued employment growth and low unemployment.

However, conditions have become less favourable for some resident workers.

The ministry added that the government will continue supporting employers and workers by investing in workforce transformation and human capital development through its programmes, such as the Career Conversion Programme and Mid-Career Pathways Programme.

Fresh graduates can also rely on the GRaduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) as an alternative entry point to the workforce.

The involuntarily unemployed can also receive temporary financial support of up to S$6,000 over six months while they undertake active job search under the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme.