share on
Early figures point to slower employment growth and a slight uptick in unemployment, as businesses turn more cautious.
Singapore’s labour market continued to expand in the first quarter of 2025, though at a more moderate pace compared to previous quarters. According to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Labour Market Advance Release 1Q 2025, the resident unemployment rate edged up slightly from 2.8% to 2.9%, staying within the non-recessionary range.
Employment growth slows amid cautious sentiment
Total employment continued to grow in Q1 2025, but the increase of 2,300 was lower than the seasonal rise seen in Q4 2024 (7,700) and the growth recorded in Q1 2024 (3,200). This slower growth was due to more modest increases in both resident and non-resident employment compared to the previous quarter.
Resident employment declined in outward-oriented sectors such as professional services, manufacturing, and information & communications, reflecting the impact of ongoing economic uncertainty. Health & social services and financial services, however, continued to see gains. In retail trade, resident employment also fell as seasonal hiring for the year-end festive period eased.
Meanwhile, growth in non-resident employment was driven fully by Work Permit Holders (WPH). Most of the non-resident employment gains were concentrated in sectors such as administrative & support services, and community, social & personal services.
Unemployment inches up, but remains stable
Unemployment rates increased in March 2025 compared to December 2024, though they remained within the usual range for non-recessionary periods. The resident unemployment rate rose from 2.8% to 2.9% between January and March 2025. Among citizens, the unemployment rate stayed at 3.1% in March, unchanged from February but slightly higher than the 2.9% recorded at the end of 2024.
At the same time, retrenchments declined to 3,300 in the first quarter of 2025, from 3,680 in the previous quarter. The retrenchment rate eased to 1.3 per 1,000 employees, compared to 1.5 previously. Most sectors saw either stable or reduced retrenchments, with business reorganisation and restructuring continuing to be the main drivers behind job cuts.
Economic resilience efforts underway
With escalating global trade conflicts and a slowing economic outlook, businesses in Singapore have become more cautious in hiring.
The survey reflected this shift in sentiment whereby businesses were noticeably less optimistic than they were just a few months earlier. In December 2024, nearly half of employers (46.3%) had plans to hire and about a third (31.6%) intended to raise wages. By March 2025, those figures had declined, with only 40.5% of employers looking to expand their workforce and 21.7% planning wage increases.
In a LinkedIn post following the report's release, MOM said the Singapore Economic Resilience Taskforce (SERT), established on 16 April 2025, will explore further measures to help companies and employees navigate near-term challenges and position Singapore strongly for future opportunities.
Lead image / Ministry of Manpower's LinkedIn post
share on
