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Labour Market Report - Second Quarter 2026

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Main Findings

Alongside improved economic growth1, Singapore’s labour market continued to expand in 2Q 2026. Total employment2 increased by 11,400, marking the nineteenth consecutive quarter of growth and an increase from 9,400 in 1Q 2026 and 10,400 in 2Q 2025. In 2Q 2026, resident3 employment growth (2,200) slowed from the previous quarter (5,400). Resident employment grew mainly in domestic-oriented sectors such as Transportation & Storage, Public Administration & Education and Health & Social Services, as well as outward-oriented sectors such as Professional Services, Financial Services and Information & Communications. Non-resident employment growth (9,200) was driven by Work Permit Holders in Construction and Manufacturing.

2            Unemployment rates remained low and stable in June 2026 (overall: 1.9%; resident: 2.9%; citizen: 3.0%), but the resident long-term unemployment rate edged up to 1.0% in June 2026, from 0.9% in March 2026.

 

3            Retrenchments rose from 3,830 (or 1.6 retrenched per 1,000 employees) in 1Q 2026 to 4,620 (or 2.0) in 2Q 2026. The increase in retrenchments was driven by business reorganisation and restructuring in outward-oriented sectors such as Manufacturing, Information & Communications and Financial Services. While the proportion of retrenched residents who re-entered employment within 6 months post-retrenchment fell from 60.7% in 1Q 2026 to 54.9% in 2Q 2026, the 12-month re-entry rate remained broadly stable (from 69.4% to 69.8%), indicating that retrenched workers were taking longer to secure new employment.

 

4            The labour market remained relatively tight. Although job vacancies eased in 2Q 2026, there remained more vacancies than unemployed persons (1.48 vacancies per unemployed person in June 2026, similar to the 1.46 in March 2026). Job vacancies declined from 73,300 in March 2026 to 68,600 in June 2026, mainly reflecting a fall in PMET vacancies in Financial Services and Information & Communications. Entry-level PMET vacancies remained broadly stable and sizeable, accounting for 45.3% of all job vacancies (or 31,700 vacancies) in June 2026, compared with 43.6% (or 32,800 vacancies) in March 2026.

 

Labour Market Outlook

 

5            MOM’s July 2026 business expectations polls point to a positive but cautious labour market outlook. Near-term hiring expectations improved across more sectors, with the share of firms intending to hire in the next three months rising from 43.9% in June to 48.7% in July. However, the proportion of firms intending to raise wages eased slightly from 29.3% in June to 27.9% in July. Despite the improvement, both hiring and wage expectations remained below their February 2026 levels.

 

Conclusion

 

6            Overall, the labour market remained resilient in 2Q 2026, with continued employment growth and low unemployment. However, conditions became less favourable for some resident workers, as resident employment growth moderated, retrenchments increased and six-month re-entry outcomes weakened.

 

7            The Government will continue to support employers and workers by investing in workforce transformation and human capital development through a suite of programmes:

 

  1. For employers: Employers can draw on various schemes to support the reskilling and upskilling of their workers, such as the Career Conversion Programmes and Mid-Career Pathways Programme. The 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: Career Health SG supports Singaporeans in strengthening their employability and accessing better job opportunities. Singaporeans can use career coaching and guidance services provided by the Skills and Workforce Development Agency and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute to navigate the labour market and plan their careers. They can also use their SkillsFuture Credit to cover out-of-pocket fees for eligible training programmes. Mid-career Singaporeans may also benefit from the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme, which provides enhanced course fee support and training allowances to help them upskill and reskill, and stay relevant in a rapidly changing economy.

     

  3. For fresh graduates: The GRaduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) offer fresh graduates an alternative entry point into the workforce, with opportunities to gain industry-relevant skills and experience. Applications for GRIT are open to the 2026 graduating cohort and can be made through MyCareersFuture and Careers@Gov.

     

  4. For the involuntarily unemployed: The SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme provides eligible involuntarily unemployed individuals with temporary financial support of up to $6,000 over six months while they undertake active job search.

For More Information

8            The “Labour Market Report 2Q 2026” is released by the Manpower Research and Statistics Department, Ministry of Manpower. The report and technical notes on the various indicators are available at https://stats.mom.gov.sg.

FOOTNOTE

  1. According to the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Economic Survey of Singapore 2Q 2026, the Singapore economy grew by 5.9% year-on-year in 2Q 2026, easing from the 6.3% expansion in the previous quarter. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted basis, the economy expanded by 1.4%, extending the 1.2% growth in 1Q 2026. Source: MTI.
  2. Employment data in this press statement excludes migrant domestic workers (MDW). They are rounded to hundreds and may not sum in some instances due to rounding.
  3. Refers to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents.