Oral Answer to PQ on Retrenchment
NOTICE PAPER NO. 1337, 1391, 1367, 1377, 1371, 1381, 1378, 1391, 1392 OF 2026 FOR SITTING ON 6 OCTOBER 2026 and 7 OCTOBER 2026
FOR ORAL / WRITTEN ANSWER
*3014. Ms Yeo Wan Ling
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) whether an update can be provided on the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment's (TAMEM's) effectiveness in getting employers to pay retrenchment benefits; and (b) of employers who have submitted the Mandatory Retrenchment Notification and did not pay retrenchment benefits in 2025, whether data is available on the proportion who were unwilling to pay as opposed to unable to pay.
*3058. Mr David Hoe
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) for workers affected by retrenchment, what psychosocial or counselling support is available at the point of job loss; (b) how many retrenched workers have used such support over the past three years; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider strengthening referral mechanisms to such support at the point when workers are notified of retrenchment.
*3059. Ms Valerie Lee
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower given that mature employees who are retrenched may take longer to secure new employment (a) how does the Ministry assess whether Career Conversion Programmes lead to sustained employment for mature workers following programme completion; and (b) what further measures are being considered to support their long-term employment and reduce the risk of repeated displacement.
*3096. Dr Wan Rizal
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower given the weaker re-employment outcomes among retrenched workers, (a) how employment facilitation and job-matching support are differentiated according to the needs of various worker profiles; and (b) how the Ministry assesses the effectiveness of such interventions in improving their re-entry into employment.
*3133. Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry identifies disguised retrenchments proactively; (b) if so, how; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider publishing clearer guidance to prevent the mislabelling and potential under-reporting of retrenchments by employers.
*3134. Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what were the profiles of retrenched workers who were least likely to receive retrenchment benefits or other retrenchment-related financial support from their employers in 2025; (b) what were the main reasons why they did not receive such support; and (c) whether the Ministry is considering additional measures to support these workers.
*3141. Mr Liang Eng Hwa
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower in view of the Ministry's latest quarterly Labour Market Report which indicated that most of the job losses are from outward-oriented sectors, whether the Ministry and its related job agencies have targeted measures to assist workers in these affected sectors to find employment and to shorten the time to find work.
*3187. Mr Saktiandi Supaat
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower given that the Ministry has recently highlighted that unemployment indicators among older resident workers aged 50 and above warranted closer monitoring (a) whether it will track earnings and employment stability for this group of workers over the next two years; and (b) what targeted measures will support these workers’ employment.
*3211. Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower in view of Singapore’s retrenchment rate hitting its highest level since 2020 (a) how do re-employment rates and time taken to secure work differ for retrenched persons with disabilities, and those with secondary education and below; and (b) whether these workers will receive dedicated placement support and additional financial assistance if still unemployed after six months.
*3160. Mr Shawn Loh
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower in light of recent labour market reports that indicate an increase in number of retrenchments and an increase in the long-term unemployment rate (a) how have the age and qualifications profile of these groups changed over the past five years; and (b) what are the considerations behind lower employment support for those under the age of 40.
*2143. Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) how is the Ministry assessing the latest rise in retrenchments and fall in job vacancies; and (b) what targeted measures will support displaced workers and strengthen labour market resilience amid signs of economic softening.
*2167. Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has received any recent feedback from employment facilitation agencies regarding challenges in reaching affected employees to provide employment facilitation support when Mandatory Retrenchment Notifications are submitted after employees have left the company; and (b) what additional measures can the tripartite partners consider to address such challenges.
*2173. Ms He Ting Ru
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what proportion of the 4,620 job redundancies in the second quarter of 2026 were due to cyclical restructuring rather than AI adoption; (b) whether the Ministry will begin tracking AI-attributed retrenchments as a distinct category; and (c) how the Ministry verifies if firms receiving AI grants are unfairly displacing workers
*2174. Ms He Ting Ru
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) what proportion of the 4,620 workers retrenched in the second quarter of 2026 were non-residents; (b) how these compares with past non-resident retrenchments; (c) why the six-month re-entry rate for retrenched workers fell to 54.9% from 60.7%; and (d) what is the breakdown by residency status for the re-entry rate for retrenched workers.
*2176. Mr Saktiandi Supaat
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower (a) for the latest available cohort of retrenched resident professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), what proportions were re-employed at 12 and 24 months after retrenchment, with a breakdown by age group; and (b) among those re-employed (i) what proportions earned less than before retrenchment and (ii) what were the median percentage wage reductions for this group.
*2177. Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower given that the Ministry has recently highlighted that unemployment indicators among older resident workers aged 50 and above warranted closer monitoring, what further measures the Ministry is considering to support this group of workers.
*2189. Mr Alex Yeo
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower regarding the Labour Market Report Second Quarter 2026 reporting an increase in retrenchments, whether the Ministry will (i) review the adequacy of advance notice and job transition assistance for affected employees and (ii) provide further support measures for retrenched employees, particularly for PMETs in information and communications, and financial services, where there has also been a reported drop in job vacancies.
*3067. Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan
To ask the Acting Minister for Manpower which sectors have consistently recorded the lowest six-month re-entry rates for retrenched resident Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians (PMETs) in the last 14 quarters, up to and including the first and second quarters of 2026.
Answer:
1. Mr Speaker, my response will cover the questions on retrenchments raised by Members, which are scheduled for the sittings today and tomorrow. Where Members consider that their questions have been covered in this combined response, they may wish to withdraw them accordingly.
Overall Retrenchment Trends
2. Mr Speaker, the recent increase in retrenchments has understandably caused anxiety. Each retrenchment causes significant disruption to the lives of a worker and his or her family.
3. I will first outline the overall labour market situation before addressing how we are supporting retrenched workers during this period.
4. We are monitoring the labour market situation closely. Overall, the labour market continued to expand in the second quarter of 2026, and the number of job vacancies remains greater than the number of unemployed persons. At the same time, we are seeing signs of softening in sectors such as Information & Communications and Financial Services, where job vacancies have declined and retrenchment numbers have risen.
5. The primary driver of retrenchments continues to be business restructuring. Of the 4,620 workers retrenched in the second quarter of 2026, around three in four were retrenched due to business reorganisation or restructuring. The proportion of retrenchments due to a cyclical downturn remained low at 4.9%. Ms He Ting Ru asked if such retrenchments were driven by AI adoption. This is not clear at present, as it is difficult to isolate the specific impact of AI adoption from broader business transformation and reorganisation. That said, MOM’s surveys indicate that only a small minority of firms adopting AI have reduced headcount, while more are creating new roles or redesigning jobs. We will continue to refine our surveys and market sensing mechanisms to better understand the impact of AI on jobs.
Profile of Retrenched Workers
6. Let me now speak on the profile of workers who have been retrenched. To address Mr Shawn Loh’s question, the age and educational profiles of the retrenched cohort have remained broadly stable over the past five years. Those in their 40s and 50s account for over half of retrenched residents. In terms of educational level, degree holders remained the largest group, with their share increasing from 51.0% in 2021 to 66.4% in 2025 among retrenched residents. Broadly similar trends were observed among long-term unemployed residents.
7. To Ms He Ting Ru’s question, about one in four retrenched workers were non-residents, comparable with recent quarters. Residents account for most retrenchments as they are disproportionately represented in PMET roles which are more impacted by restructuring. Among PMETs, the likelihood of retrenchment was similar for residents and non-residents, at 3.2 in every 1,000 employees in each group in the second quarter of 2026.
Re-entry Outcomes
8. Retrenchments are part of business restructuring. The key is how soon retrenched workers return to employment. Re-entry outcomes have softened, with the proportion of retrenched residents returning to employment within six months declining from 60.7% in the first quarter to 54.9% in the second quarter of this year. While seasonal hiring patterns partly explain the decline, the re-entry rate is lower than in previous years and shows a broader downtrend.
9. The decline in the re-entry rate was most pronounced among clerical, sales and service workers, tertiary-educated residents and those aged below 30. The decline was also broad-based across industries, with larger decreases among those previously employed in Manufacturing, Information & Communications, Financial Services and Professional Services. This reflects softer hiring demand in these sectors, which could contribute to longer re-entry. Transitioning to other sectors takes more time and effort.
10. Across sectors, the sector with the lowest six-month re-entry rate for retrenched resident PMETs varied from quarter to quarter. Over the last 14 quarters, Financial Services recorded the lowest rate most often followed by Wholesale Trade.
11. To Ms Hazlina Halim’s question, the six-month re-entry rate for those with secondary education and below was higher compared to the overall rate, and their mean time taken to re-enter employment was correspondingly shorter. We do not collect information on the disability status of retrenched workers. To Ms He Ting Ru’s question, we also do not track the re-entry of non-residents, as they may leave Singapore after retrenchment to return home or seek work elsewhere.
12. Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about longer-term re-entry outcomes. About seven in ten PMET residents re-entered employment within 12 months, and about eight in ten re-entered employment within 24 months, which is comparable to the re-entry rate in the previous quarter. Some may choose to exit the labour force. Older retrenched PMETs had lower re-entry rates at both the 12-month and 24-month mark. Among those who re-entered, about six in ten earned more than before retrenchment both at the 12-month and 24-month mark. Among those earning less, the median wage reduction was around 25% of pre-retrenchment wages.
Support for retrenched workers
13. Mr Speaker, these figures show that there is no single experience of retrenchment. Some workers are able to move into new jobs relatively quickly, while others may face greater difficulties because of their skills, occupation, age or the sector they were previously working in. Some are able to find new jobs with the same or higher wages but others may experience pay reduction.
14. Our approach therefore has two parts. First, we want to ensure that employers conduct retrenchments responsibly and treat affected workers fairly. Second, we support affected workers to navigate the transition and to regain employment.
15. To guide employers, the Tripartite Advisory on Managing Excess Manpower and Responsible Retrenchment, or TAMEM, sets out tripartite partners’ expectations of employers during workforce transitions, to ensure that workers are treated fairly. To Ms He Ting Ru’s question, all firms receiving government grants are expected to abide by the spirit of responsible retrenchment as set out in TAMEM. MOM is working with the relevant agencies to explore ways to strengthen grant recipients' commitments to responsible employment practices and workforce transformation outcomes. Where there are signs of unfair displacement, MOM will investigate and take appropriate action.
16. Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Melvin Yong asked about the effectiveness of TAMEM in getting employers to provide retrenchment benefits, and which workers are least likely to receive retrenchment benefits. Thus far, TAMEM has been effective in encouraging most employers to provide retrenchment benefits. Based on Mandatory Retrenchment Notification (MRN) data for 2025, around 88% of employers paid retrenchment benefits to employees.
17. Of the remaining 12% of employers who did not pay retrenchment benefits, about one in five indicated that they had financial difficulties. The rest said they did not pay due to other reasons, including the lack of an obligation to do so, or because the employee was given other forms of support, such as keeping them on payroll for an extended period, or employment assistance payout. As shared previously, MOM and our tripartite partners are considering the issue of retrenchment benefits as part of the ongoing Employment Act review, including whether stronger obligations on employers are warranted.
18. Regarding the profile of retrenched workers who did not receive retrenchment benefits, close to 80% were from companies with less than 200 employees. To Mr Patrick Tay’s question about whether MOM identifies disguised retrenchments, tripartite partners provide advisory services that help employees identify whether a termination might constitute retrenchment. Where there are complaints of disguised retrenchments, MOM will investigate for signs such as a spike in contractual terminations within the company and engage the employer concerned. We agree that clearer guidance would help prevent mislabelling and under-reporting. MOM will work with tripartite partners to provide clearer guidance on what constitutes a retrenchment and the obligations that follow.
19. To address questions from Mr David Hoe, Mr Alex Yeo and Mr Patrick Tay, as part of the on-going Employment Act Review, tripartite partners are exploring measures to strengthen support for retrenched workers, including on the payment of retrenchment benefits and bringing forward the MRN notification period so that employment services can be offered to retrenched workers at the earliest feasible time.
20. To Mr Patrick Tay’s question, we have received e2i’s feedback regarding challenges in reaching retrenched workers directly when the MRN was submitted after they have left the company, as e2i could not obtain the contact details of affected employees. We are exploring how we can address this while protecting the privacy and personal preferences of retrenched workers.
21. The Government is also working with tripartite partners to support retrenched workers to re-enter employment. Companies with 10 or more employees are required to submit an MRN to MOM when retrenching any employee.
22. Upon receiving the MRNs or early retrenchment alert, the Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation, which consists of MOM, SWDA, NTUC and e2i, reaches out to all affected employees to offer employment facilitation support. This includes career guidance and coaching, job matching and skills upgrading advice tailored to workers' needs. We agree with Mr David Hoe that timely emotional support is important to help retrenched workers bounce back. This is why career coaches are trained to provide emotional support where needed, to help workers cope with job losses and manage career transitions. To Mr David Hoe’s question, SWDA does not separately track the number of retrenched workers who have received psychosocial or counselling support through our career coaches as such support is provided when needed as part of career coaching.
23. The initial job search can be difficult, especially for lower- to middle-income workers, if they have heavy financial responsibilities. The SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme provides temporary financial support to involuntarily unemployed individuals while they actively seek employment and participate in job search and career-related activities.
24. As businesses restructure and jobs transform, jobseekers may need to consider career switches which require more substantial reskilling. They can participate in Career Conversion Programmes, the Mid-Career Pathways Programme and the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programmes. To Mr Liang Eng Hwa’s question about targeted measures in outward-oriented sectors such as Financial Services and Information & Communications, MAS and IMDA have sectoral jobs and skills initiatives such as the Company-Led Training programme and Technology in Finance Immersion Programme to equip Singaporeans with skills to take on jobs in these sectors.
25. To Dr Wan Rizal’s question on how we ensure the effectiveness of our interventions, we do track programme take-up and employment outcomes, including how quickly jobseekers on these programmes secure re-employment. About six in ten jobseekers who received career matching services found employment within six months, and nine in ten Career Conversion Programme participants remained employed 24 months after embarking on the programme. We will continue to refine our support to improve these outcomes.
Older Workers and Persons with Disabilities
26. We understand that some groups may require more targeted support after job loss, as highlighted by Dr Wan Rizal and Ms Jessica Tan. Ms Hazlina Abdul Halim asked about support for persons with disabilities. The Taskforce on Assurance for Families with Persons with Disabilities has recently released its recommendations, which include enhancing employment support and funding to support persons with disabilities in finding and sustaining employment.
27. Mr Saktiandi Supaat, Mr Patrick Tay and Ms Valerie Lee asked about support for older workers. We closely monitor their employment outcomes, including employment and unemployment rates, income and job mobility. Older workers have lower re-entry rates following retrenchment and may face greater barriers in returning to employment. This is also why, in response to Mr Shawn Loh’s question, we provide enhanced support for Singaporeans aged 40 and above as part of our jobs and skills programmes like the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme and the Career Conversion Programmes. To Ms Valerie Lee’s question, close to 9 in 10 mature Career Conversion Programme participants remained employed 12 months after programme completion. This is encouraging but reskilling alone cannot insulate older workers from future displacement, particularly in sectors undergoing rapid transformation. We therefore need to look beyond support at the point of retrenchment and at how we can help older workers remain employable throughout their careers.
28. This is why MOM, NTUC and SNEF are studying broader measures under the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment to support older workers across their career journey and to enable longer, more sustainable careers.
Reviewing support for career transitions
29. Mr Speaker, the labour market remains resilient but there are signs of softening. We are therefore comprehensively reviewing our measures to see how we can strengthen support for workers. Specifically, tripartite partners are studying measures to ensure workers are treated fairly when retrenchments occur, including on the payment of retrenchment benefits, and earlier access to employment facilitation services so that workers are supported at the earliest opportunity. We are also looking at how to better support workers who face longer transitions back into employment, including older workers and those in sectors undergoing significant restructuring. This work is being taken forward through various reviews, including the ongoing Employment Act review and the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment. We will provide an update when these reviews are completed.