Singapore (VNA) – Singapore’s labour market continued to expand in the second quarter of 2026, but signs of cooling emerged as retrenchments reached their highest level since late 2020 and job vacancies declined, despite overall employment growth and low unemployment.
According to a labour market report recently released by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM), 4,620 workers were retrenched in the second quarter, or about two per 1,000 workers, up significantly from 3,830 in the first quarter. The figure was the highest since the fourth quarter of 2020, when Singapore was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
MOM said the increase was mainly driven by corporate restructuring in outward-oriented sectors, including manufacturing, information and communications, and financial services.
Ang Boon Heng, Director of Manpower Research and Statistics at the ministry, described the rise in retrenchments over the past two quarters as a trend to watch, but said there were currently no signs that it would persist. Retrenchments have also remained concentrated in sectors reliant on external markets rather than being widespread.
Workers who lost their jobs are also taking longer to find new employment. The proportion securing a new job within six months fell from 60.7% in the first quarter to 54.9% in the second, although nearly 70% found work within a year.
Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau acknowledged that the transition from old to new jobs is taking longer for some workers. She said job opportunities remain available, but career transitions can be challenging.
The government will continue helping workers acquire new skills and adapt to market demand through career conversion programmes, which provide training directly for positions where businesses have vacancies, she said.
MOM described the outlook as “positive but cautious”. A business survey in July showed the proportion of firms expecting to hire more workers in the following three months rose from 43.9% in June to 48.7%, while those planning wage increases fell from 29.3% to 27.9%.
It noted that although hiring expectations had improved, both hiring and wage-growth prospects remained below February levels, suggesting that the labour market may continue to expand at a more cautious pace./.
