Singapore’s total employment rose by 11,400 in the second quarter of 2026, the Ministry of Manpower said on Sunday, 21 September 2026, marking a nineteenth straight quarter of growth and a step up from 9,400 in the previous quarter.
Resident employment grew more slowly, by 2,200, after 5,400 in 1Q. Growth for residents was concentrated in Transportation & Storage, Public Administration & Education, Health & Social Services, Professional Services, Financial Services and Information & Communications. Non-resident employment rose by 9,200, led by Work Permit Holders in Construction and Manufacturing. Figures exclude migrant domestic workers.
Unemployment stayed low; retrenchments rose
Unemployment rates in June 2026 remained low: overall 1.9%, resident 2.9%, citizen 3.0%. Resident long-term unemployment edged up to 1.0% from 0.9% in March.
Retrenchments climbed from 3,830 in 1Q (1.6 per 1,000 employees) to 4,620 in 2Q (2.0 per 1,000). MOM tied the rise to business reorganisation in outward-oriented sectors such as Manufacturing, Information & Communications and Financial Services. The share of retrenched residents who found work within six months fell from 60.7% to 54.9%, while the 12-month re-entry rate held near 70%.
Vacancies and GRIT
Job vacancies eased from 73,300 in March to 68,600 in June, mainly on fewer PMET openings in Financial Services and Information & Communications. There were still 1.48 vacancies per unemployed person in June. Entry-level PMET roles remained about 45% of all vacancies.
MOM’s July business polls showed more firms intending to hire in the next three months (48.7%, up from 43.9% in June), though wage-rise intentions softened slightly. For the 2026 graduating cohort, applications for GRaduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) remain open through MyCareersFuture and Careers@Gov.
The full Labour Market Report 2Q 2026 and technical notes sit on stats.mom.gov.sg.
