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Labour Market Advance Release – First Quarter 2026

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Overview

 

                Preliminary data indicate that Singapore’s labour market remained resilient in 1Q 2026, with employment expanding for the 18th consecutive quarter since 4Q 2021. While employment growth moderated from the previous quarter, it remained stronger than a year ago1. Unemployment and retrenchments remained broadly stable.

 

Main Findings2

 

Total employment continued to grow for the 18th consecutive quarter

 

2              Total employment grew by 5,000 in 1Q 2026, more than the 2,300 in 1Q 2025 but down from the 17,700 in 4Q 2025. The moderation this quarter reflects seasonal effects and a step-down from a high base, rather than a broad-based weakening in the labour market. For instance, construction activity typically slows during the Chinese New Year period. After adjusting for seasonality3, employment growth remained higher than a year ago, though still easing from the previous quarter.

 

3              Employment grew for both residents4 and non-residents in 1Q 2026. Resident employment growth was concentrated in Transportation & Storage and Administrative & Support Services, while non-resident employment growth continued to be driven by Construction, but at a slower rate than last quarter.

 

Unemployment rates remained low and broadly stable

 

4              Monthly unemployment rates edged up in March 2026 (overall: 2.1%, resident: 2.9%, citizen: 3.1%), but remained broadly stable when compared to December 2025 (overall: 2.0%, resident: 2.9%, citizen: 3.0%).

 

 

The incidence and number of retrenchments remained low and similar to the past quarter

 

5              The incidence of retrenchment remained low at 1.5 per 1,000 employees in 1Q 2026, unchanged from 4Q 2025 (1.5). The number of retrenchments (3,700) was also similar to the previous quarter (3,690). Retrenchments were stable or declined across most sectors, with a majority occurring due to business reorganisation or restructuring.

 

Labour Market Outlook

 

6              Looking ahead to 2Q 2026, we expect the labour market to remain tight and continue to expand5. However, businesses are expected to be cautious in their hiring and wage plans amid increased economic uncertainty due to geopolitical tensions. The share of firms expecting to hire in the next three months declined from 54.6% in February 2026 to 44.6% in March 2026, while expectations to raise wages declined from 39.3% to 25.4% over the same period. Although there are early signs of stabilisation in April, expectations remain below pre-crisis levels in February. This suggests a more measured pace of hiring, with potential softening if external conditions weaken.

 

Conclusion

 

7              In view of the headwinds in the global economy, it is important for companies to take proactive action to transform their workforce and for workers to upgrade to be ready to seize new opportunities. The Government continues to support employers and workers in investing and building up human capital through a suite of programmes:

 

  1. For employers: Employers can tap on our existing schemes to reskill and upskill their workers, such as the Career Conversion Programmes and Mid-Career Pathways Programme. The new SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+) provides funding support of up to 70% for workforce transformation and job redesign project costs, capped at $150,000 per enterprise, with higher support levels provided for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

     

  2. For workers: Through Career Health SG, we empower Singaporeans to take proactive steps to improve their employability and access better job opportunities. Singaporeans can make use of career coaching and guidance services provided by WSG and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute to navigate the labour market and make career plans. They can also use their SkillsFuture Credit to cover their out-of-pocket fees for eligible training programmes.

     

  3. For fresh graduates: The GRaduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) provides fresh graduates with an alternative entry point into the workforce that enables them to acquire industry-relevant skills and experience. GRIT applications are now open for the 2026 graduating cohort. Applications for GRIT can be made through MyCareersFuture and Careers@Gov.

     

  4. For the involuntarily unemployed: The SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme launched in April 2025 provides temporary financial support of up to $6,000 over six months to eligible involuntarily unemployed individuals who are engaged in active job search.

 

8              The Labour Market Report First Quarter 2026, to be released in mid-June 2026, will provide a comprehensive assessment and more details of the labour market situation in 1Q 2026. This will include resident and non-resident employment breakdowns, sectoral data, number of job vacancies, labour turnover, and re-entry rates among retrenched residents. For more information on the trends for total employment change, retrenchments, and unemployment rates, please refer to the Annex.

 

For More Information

 

9              The full report is available online on MOM’s Research and Statistics Department website at stats.mom.gov.sg.

 

10           For data requests and queries pertaining to the report, please reach out to MOM’s Research and Statistics Department at mom_rsd@mom.gov.sg.

FOOTNOTE

  1. Economic growth showed a similar moderation. Based on the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s advance estimates for 1Q 2026, the Singapore economy grew by 4.6% year-on-year in 1Q 2026, easing from the 5.7% growth recorded in the previous quarter, but broadly comparable to the 4.5% expansion in 1Q 2025.
  2. Data for 1Q 2026 are preliminary (denoted as “p” in the Annex).
  3. After adjusting for seasonality, employment growth is estimated to be around 9,200 in 1Q 2026, still lower than 4Q 2025 (20,000) but higher than 1Q 2025 (5,000). Figures are seasonally adjusted to remove recurring seasonal influences – such as increased hiring during year-end festivities – that may otherwise obscure the underlying trend and short-term fluctuations in a time series.
  4. Refers to Singapore citizens and permanent residents.
  5. In December 2025, the number of job vacancies was 77,700. In the same period, the job vacancy to unemployed person ratio was 1.58.

ANNEX