Resident unemployment has climbed to 3%

Retrenchments rose by 3.9% to 4,800 in Q3 2026, up from 4,620 in Q2, according to the latest Ministry of Manpower (MOM)’s Labour Market Advance Release on Friday (Oct 30).

Retrenchments in Q3 2026 are the ​highest since the 5,640 layoffs recorded in Q4 2020. The incidence of retrenchment held constant at 2.0 for every 1,000 employees.

MOM said business reorganisation continued to be the main driver of retrenchments, with layoffs staying elevated in selected outward-oriented sectors such as information and communications, financial services and manufacturing.

At the same time, total employment grew by 27,700 in the third quarter, extending Singapore’s labour market expansion to a 20th consecutive quarter. This was more than double the 11,400 added in the preceding quarter and higher than the 25,100 in the same period last year.

Non-residents led employment growth in the third quarter, particularly in construction and manufacturing. Among residents, MOM said, growth continued to be mainly supported by essential and public services, while outward-oriented sectors remained subdued amid global economic uncertainty.

Forward-looking indicators were mixed in Sept, MOM noted.

Looking ahead, a MOM poll showed more companies expected to hire and raise wages over the next three months, but a slightly larger share also expected to retrench.

The share of firms expecting to hire in the next three months rose to 42.3% in Sept from 30.5% in Aug, while the share expecting to raise wages rose to 19.9% from 16.9%. Both were below Jul’s levels, which MOM said suggested employers remained cautious amid economic uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the overall unemployment rate stayed low and unchanged at 2% in Sept. The resident and citizen rates, though, edged up slightly, to 3% and 3.1%, respectively, from 2.8% and 3.1% in Aug.

“This increase, alongside higher actual retrenchments, points to emerging weaknesses in parts of the labour market that warrant close monitoring,” the ministry said.

“Against a more uncertain global outlook and rapid technological change, companies will need to keep adapting and investing in their workforce, while workers will need to keep their skills relevant,” it added.

MOM will release the full labour market report for the third quarter in mid-Dec.

• Read other articles we’ve written on Singapore’s job landscape here.

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