Singapore’s total employment growth rises in Q3, outpacing last quarter

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s total employment grew at a faster pace in the third quarter of 2025 than in the previous quarter, contrary to earlier expectations of a softer outcome, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Thursday (Oct 30).

Unemployment rates and retrenchments remained low and stable, said MOM in an advance release of its quarterly labour force report.

Total employment grew by 24,800 in Q3 2025, higher than the 10,400 increase in the second quarter and the 22,300 in the third quarter of last year. The increase was supported by employment growth in both resident and non-resident employment.

According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s (MTI) advance estimates released earlier this month, the Singapore economy grew by 2.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, moderating from the 4.5 per cent recorded in the previous quarter.

MOM said on Thursday resident employment growth was mixed across sectors, concentrated in areas such as financial services and health and social services, but subdued in outward-oriented sectors such as information and communications and professional services.

Wholesale trade saw a sharp decline in resident employment.

Non-resident employment also contracted in these three outward-oriented sectors.

The growth in non-resident employment growth was mainly in work permit holders in the construction and manufacturing sectors, with other sectors remaining relatively muted.

Unemployment rates stayed low at 2.0 per cent overall in September 2025, similar to the previous quarter and within the non-recessionary range.

Resident unemployment stood at 2.8 per cent, while citizen unemployment was at 3.0 per cent.

The number of retrenchments stood at 3,500 - or 1.4 retrenched per 1,000 employees - in the third quarter of 2025, comparable to the 3,540 in the previous quarter.

“Majority of the retrenchments continued to be due to business reorganisation or restructuring,” said MOM.

LABOUR MARKET OUTLOOK

Looking ahead, employment growth is expected to remain positive but uneven across sectors, while wage growth is expected to moderate.

The Manpower Ministry said that hiring expectations for the fourth quarter of 2025 rose slightly to 44.1 per cent, from 43.7 per cent in Q2, suggesting a modest improvement in hiring sentiment.

However, those expectations varied across sectors, with outward-oriented industries reporting weaker sentiment.

The proportion of firms planning wage increases also fell to 19.3 per cent from 22.4 per cent in Q2, edging down across most sectors.

Some outward-oriented sectors may see a pickup in retrenchments, MOM warned.

“These trends suggest that while overall employment growth is likely to be sustained, wage growth may moderate amid cost pressures, and resident employment growth may lag that of non-residents, given the already high resident labour force participation rate,” said MOM.

The ministry added that employers and workers should take pre-emptive action to stay resilient and remain adaptable to new opportunities amid global uncertainties and headwinds.

Workers are encouraged to tap on career coaching and guidance services provided by Workforce Singapore (WSG) and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i), and the wide range of SkillsFuture training programmes.

“These can help workers improve their career resilience and prospects during this period of uncertainty,” said MOM.

Fresh graduates facing difficulties finding employment can utilise the Graduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) scheme announced earlier this year to support their entry into the workforce.

MOM said the full labour market report for the third quarter of 2025 will be released in mid-December.