SINGAPORE: Singapore’s total employment grew in the second quarter of 2025, supported by continued economic growth, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Wednesday (Jul 30).
Unemployment rates and retrenchments remained stable in the quarter, MOM said in an advance release of its quarterly labour force report.
However, signs of softening in resident employment continued to emerge in some outward-oriented sectors, such as professional services and information and communications, the ministry said.
Employment is expected to continue to grow, although at a more moderate pace than last year, MOM said.
“This reflects global economic headwinds and cautious hiring sentiments as well as the already high resident labour force participation rate.”
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday said that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to moderate in the second half of the year, and prospects for the Singapore economy remain subject to "significant uncertainty, especially in 2026".
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Trade and Industry flagged "significant uncertainty and downside risks" in the global economy in the second half of the year, despite Singapore's economy growing faster in the second quarter of 2025.
In April, MTI lowered Singapore's GDP growth forecast for 2025 to 0 per cent to 2 per cent, pointing to the effect of US President Donald Trump's tariffs. The ministry previously had a forecast of 1 per cent to 3 per cent growth for the year.
Total employment, excluding migrant domestic workers, grew by 8,400 in Q2 2025. This was higher than the growth of 2,300 observed in the last quarter, and also more than the growth of 7,700 seen in the last quarter of 2024.
“This reflects larger gains in both resident and non-resident employment compared to the previous quarter,” MOM said.
The rise in employment, however, is lower than the growth of 11,300 observed in the same period a year ago.
Resident employment continued to rise in sectors such as financial services as well as health and social services. However, resident employment saw continued declines in some outward-oriented sectors such as professional services as well as information and communications.
Non-resident employment also grew and was driven entirely by work permit holders, particularly in the construction sector.
Unemployment rates rose slightly in June and returned to levels seen in March after dipping slightly in April and May.
Resident unemployment was seen at 2.9 per cent in June, while citizen unemployment stood at 3 per cent.
Although unemployment rates have seen short-term fluctuations, they remained broadly stable and within the non-recessionary range, MOM said.
The number of retrenchments also remained stable at 3,500 in the second quarter of 2025, with similar or lower levels across most sectors, MOM said. This compares to 3,590 retrenchments in the first quarter of this year.
The incidence of retrenchment remained low at 1.4 per 1,000 employees, up slightly from 1.3 in the previous quarter.
“Business reorganisation or restructuring continued to be the top reason cited for retrenchments,” MOM said.
Business sentiments remained relatively stable and cautious, the ministry said.
But it warned that global economic uncertainty is expected to persist in the coming months and may weigh on hiring and wage growth, especially in outward-oriented sectors.
Hiring and wage expectations for the third quarter of 2025 dipped slightly from the previous quarter.
The proportion of firms expecting to hire declined slightly from the second quarter of this year by 0.3 percentage points to 43.7 per cent in Q3.
The proportion of firms expecting to raise wages also dropped from the last quarter by 2 percentage points to 22.4 per cent in Q3.
Declines in wage expectations were observed in outward-oriented sectors such as financial insurance services, professional services as well as transportation and storage, MOM said.
The ministry encouraged employers and workers to “tap on the wide suite of initiatives and programmes to press on with transformation and upskilling, adapt to changes, and seize new opportunities”.
For example, workers can use the Career Conversion Programmes and Mid-Career Pathways Productivity Solutions Grant, MOM said.
The newly launched SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme also offers up to S$6,000 (US$4,500) in temporary financial assistance over six months to individuals who are involuntarily unemployed.
The Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT) established earlier this year also announced measures to expand access to career guidance services and enhance funding support for HR certifications.
“SERT is also standing by to provide more support should the economic situation call for it, MOM said.
The labour market report for the second quarter of 2025, which is due for release in mid-September, will provide a comprehensive assessment and more details of the labour market situation during the quarter, the ministry added.
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Unemployment rates and retrenchments remained stable in the quarter, MOM said in an advance release of its quarterly labour force report.
However, signs of softening in resident employment continued to emerge in some outward-oriented sectors, such as professional services and information and communications, the ministry said.
Employment is expected to continue to grow, although at a more moderate pace than last year, MOM said.
“This reflects global economic headwinds and cautious hiring sentiments as well as the already high resident labour force participation rate.”
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday said that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected to moderate in the second half of the year, and prospects for the Singapore economy remain subject to "significant uncertainty, especially in 2026".
Earlier this month, the Ministry of Trade and Industry flagged "significant uncertainty and downside risks" in the global economy in the second half of the year, despite Singapore's economy growing faster in the second quarter of 2025.
In April, MTI lowered Singapore's GDP growth forecast for 2025 to 0 per cent to 2 per cent, pointing to the effect of US President Donald Trump's tariffs. The ministry previously had a forecast of 1 per cent to 3 per cent growth for the year.
EMPLOYMENT GROWTH
Total employment, excluding migrant domestic workers, grew by 8,400 in Q2 2025. This was higher than the growth of 2,300 observed in the last quarter, and also more than the growth of 7,700 seen in the last quarter of 2024.
“This reflects larger gains in both resident and non-resident employment compared to the previous quarter,” MOM said.
The rise in employment, however, is lower than the growth of 11,300 observed in the same period a year ago.
Resident employment continued to rise in sectors such as financial services as well as health and social services. However, resident employment saw continued declines in some outward-oriented sectors such as professional services as well as information and communications.
Non-resident employment also grew and was driven entirely by work permit holders, particularly in the construction sector.
Unemployment rates rose slightly in June and returned to levels seen in March after dipping slightly in April and May.
Resident unemployment was seen at 2.9 per cent in June, while citizen unemployment stood at 3 per cent.
Although unemployment rates have seen short-term fluctuations, they remained broadly stable and within the non-recessionary range, MOM said.
The number of retrenchments also remained stable at 3,500 in the second quarter of 2025, with similar or lower levels across most sectors, MOM said. This compares to 3,590 retrenchments in the first quarter of this year.
The incidence of retrenchment remained low at 1.4 per 1,000 employees, up slightly from 1.3 in the previous quarter.
“Business reorganisation or restructuring continued to be the top reason cited for retrenchments,” MOM said.
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LABOUR MARKET OUTLOOK
Business sentiments remained relatively stable and cautious, the ministry said.
But it warned that global economic uncertainty is expected to persist in the coming months and may weigh on hiring and wage growth, especially in outward-oriented sectors.
Hiring and wage expectations for the third quarter of 2025 dipped slightly from the previous quarter.
The proportion of firms expecting to hire declined slightly from the second quarter of this year by 0.3 percentage points to 43.7 per cent in Q3.
The proportion of firms expecting to raise wages also dropped from the last quarter by 2 percentage points to 22.4 per cent in Q3.
Declines in wage expectations were observed in outward-oriented sectors such as financial insurance services, professional services as well as transportation and storage, MOM said.
The ministry encouraged employers and workers to “tap on the wide suite of initiatives and programmes to press on with transformation and upskilling, adapt to changes, and seize new opportunities”.
For example, workers can use the Career Conversion Programmes and Mid-Career Pathways Productivity Solutions Grant, MOM said.
The newly launched SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme also offers up to S$6,000 (US$4,500) in temporary financial assistance over six months to individuals who are involuntarily unemployed.
The Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT) established earlier this year also announced measures to expand access to career guidance services and enhance funding support for HR certifications.
“SERT is also standing by to provide more support should the economic situation call for it, MOM said.
The labour market report for the second quarter of 2025, which is due for release in mid-September, will provide a comprehensive assessment and more details of the labour market situation during the quarter, the ministry added.
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