Singapore's Labor Market Expands, But Rising Retrenchments Signal Weakness
By Megan Cheah
SINGAPORE--Singapore's labor market continued to expand in the third quarter, but retrenchments remained high in certain sectors, suggesting emerging weaknesses in parts of the market.
Total employment, excluding migrant domestic workers, increased by 27,700 during the quarter, advance data from Singapore's Ministry of Manpower showed Friday.
The increase accelerated from 11,400 in the second quarter and 25,100 in the third quarter of 2025.
Employment growth among Singapore citizens and permanent residents was buoyed by the essential and public services sectors, but outward-oriented sectors such as information and communications and financial services saw subdued growth as global economic uncertainty weighed.
Nonresident employment growth continued to account for the lion's share of the total, mainly concentrated in sectors such as construction.
The overall unemployment rate held steady at 2.0% in September.
Retrenchments increased to 4,800 in the third quarter from 4,620 in the prior three months, the ministry said. The level remained elevated in selected outward-oriented sectors, such as financial services. Business reorganization continued to be the main driver of retrenchments.
More firms are signaling plans to retrench workers, the ministry flagged. "This increase, alongside higher actual retrenchments, points to emerging weaknesses in parts of the labor market that warrant close monitoring," it said.
Meanwhile, a larger share of firms expect to hire or raise wages in the next three months, but the September figures remained below July levels, which implies employers remain wary of boosting headcount and pay given the uncertain economic climate.
Like many developed economies, Singapore faces the demographic challenge of a low birthrate and a rapidly aging population. If those trends persist, it will have an increasingly smaller pool of workers supporting a rising number of retirees.
Write to Megan Cheah at megan.cheah@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 29, 2026 22:44 ET (02:44 GMT)
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