Singapore: Employment Rose by 27,700 in the Third Quarter, Unemployment Steady at 2.0 Percent
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in its advance labour market release on October 30 that total employment grew by 27,700 in the third quarter of 2026, up from 11,400 in the second quarter and slightly above the 25,100 recorded a year earlier. The figures exclude migrant domestic workers.
Unemployment remained low and stable: the overall rate was 2.0 percent in September, unchanged from August, with resident unemployment at 3.0 percent and citizen unemployment at 3.1 percent. MOM said rates remain within the range seen in non-recession years.
Retrenchments rose slightly to 4,800 in the third quarter, from 4,620 in the second, equivalent to 2.0 per 1,000 employees, unchanged as a rate. MOM said business restructuring remained the main reason.
Hiring expectations improved, with the share of firms planning to hire in the next three months rising from 30.5 percent in August to 42.3 percent in September, while the share planning wage increases was broadly flat. The full third-quarter Labour Market Report will be published in mid-December.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 照片：新加坡滨海湾，Bijay Chaurasia 摄，Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 4.0 授权 / Photo of Marina Bay, Singapore, by Bijay Chaurasia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
