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Singapore's labour market continued to expand in the second quarter of 2026 despite continued global uncertainty, with total employment rising for the 19th consecutive quarter, while unemployment rates remained low and stable, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Manpower, Singapore, on Friday.
The ministry said total employment increased by 10,700 in the April-June quarter, up from 9,400 in the first quarter of 2026 and broadly similar to the 10,400 increase recorded in the corresponding quarter last year. Resident employment continued to grow, although at a slower pace than in the previous quarter, with growth mainly in essential and public services. Non-resident employment growth, which had slowed in the first quarter, picked up in the second quarter, driven largely by the construction and manufacturing sectors. The release said unemployment rates remained low and broadly stable in June 2026. The overall unemployment rate stood at 2.0 per cent, unchanged from March 2026, while the resident unemployment rate remained at 2.9 per cent. The citizen unemployment rate eased slightly to 3.0 per cent from 3.1 per cent in March. The number of retrenchments rose from 3,830 in the first quarter to 4,500 in the second quarter, with the increase concentrated in some outward-oriented sectors and driven primarily by business restructuring. However, the ministry said retrenchments remained well below levels typically seen during periods of economic downturn. Looking ahead, the ministry said forward-looking indicators improved in June. The share of firms expecting to hire over the next three months increased from 40.6 per cent in May to 43.9 per cent in June, while the proportion expecting to raise wages rose from 23.7 per cent to 29.3 per cent. At the same time, the share of firms expecting to retrench declined from 3.2 per cent to 2.7 per cent. "The improvement in hiring, wage, and retrenchment expectations suggests that labour demand is resilient, even as firms remain cautious given economic uncertainties and continued business restructuring in some sectors," the ministry said. The government will continue supporting employers and workers through programmes focused on workforce transformation, skills development, career support and job redesign, while a comprehensive Labour Market Report for the second quarter of 2026 will be released in mid-September. (ANI)
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