SINGAPORE: Layoffs rose in the second quarter of 2026, even as the Singapore labour market continued to expand, according to preliminary labour market data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on July 31.
There were 4,500 retrenchments in the April to June period, up from 3,830 in the January to March period and marking the highest number since the last quarter of 2020.
The 17.5 per cent increase was concentrated in some outward-oriented sectors, such as information and communications and manufacturing, and was driven primarily by business restructuring, according to MOM.
The Republic’s total employment — the number of Singapore residents and foreign workers with jobs — grew by 10,700 in the second quarter of 2026, up from 9,400 in the preceding quarter. This was broadly similar to the 10,400 recorded in the second quarter of 2025.
The number of Singaporeans and permanent residents with jobs grew at a slower pace than in the previous quarter, with growth concentrated in essential and public services.
Meanwhile, overall employment growth in the second quarter of 2026 was largely driven by foreign employment in the construction and manufacturing sectors.
Unemployment rates in June 2026 remained broadly stable at 2 per cent, similar to the previous quarter.
Looking ahead, the proportion of firms expecting to hire in the next three months rose to 43.9 per cent in June 2026, up from 40.6 per cent in May 2026. Over the same period, the share of firms expecting to raise salaries also increased to 29.3 per cent, up from 23.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the proportion of firms expecting to retrench employees declined to 2.7 per cent, down from 3.2 per cent.
"Overall, the improvement in hiring, wage and retrenchment expectations points to labour demand that remains resilient," said MOM.
"Although the uptick in hiring and wage sentiment was broad-based across sectors, these indicators remained below their pre-crisis levels in February," it added, referring to the energy shock triggered by the Iran war, which broke out in late February.
"This suggests that firms will likely continue to adopt some caution with their hiring and wage decisions in the near term."- Straits Times/ANN
