Singapore's total employment grew by 27,700 in the third quarter of 2026, more than double the previous quarter's gain, but retrenchments rose to 4,800 and resident joblessness ticked higher, advance data from the Ministry of Manpower showed on Oct. 30.

For investors, the figures present a split picture of the city-state's economy. Hiring is holding up well enough to support domestic spending, yet layoffs remain elevated in the outward-oriented industries that tie Singapore most closely to global demand, and resident job growth in finance, technology and professional services stayed weak. The data also arrive as the ministry warns of "emerging weaknesses in parts of the labour market," a phrase it said warrants close monitoring.

Faster hiring, led by foreign workers

The 27,700 gain compares with 11,400 in the second quarter and 25,100 in the third quarter of 2025, the ministry said. The second-quarter figure has been revised up from an advance estimate of 10,700, which Malay Mail reported in August.

Both resident and non-resident employment grew faster than in the previous three months. Non-residents again made up most of the increase, chiefly in construction and manufacturing. Resident job growth leaned on essential and public services.

According to a summary of the release published by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), the resident gains came mainly from public administration and education, transportation and storage, and health and social services. Growth in information and communications, financial services and professional services stayed subdued. MOM said outward-oriented sectors remained soft against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty.

The overall seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held at 2.0% in September, unchanged from August. The resident rate rose to 3.0% from 2.9%, and the rate for citizens climbed to 3.1% from 3.0%.

Retrenchments keep rising

Layoffs rose for a second straight quarter. Retrenchments totaled 4,800 in the July-to-September period, up from 4,620 in the second quarter, the ministry said. The incidence was unchanged at 2.0 per 1,000 employees. The second-quarter count has itself been revised: the advance estimate in July put it at 4,500, or 1.9 per 1,000 employees, according to Malay Mail.

The trend has been building all year. In the first quarter, retrenchments stood at 3,830, according to Malay Mail's report on the second-quarter advance data, and the incidence then was 1.6 per 1,000 employees.

Services drove the latest increase. Job cuts in the sector rose to 4,000 from 3,580, according to NTUC's breakdown, while manufacturing retrenchments fell to 700 from 870 and construction cuts dropped to 100 from 170. MOM said retrenchments remained elevated in selected outward-oriented sectors, which it defined as information and communications, financial services and manufacturing, and that business reorganization remained the main reason employers gave for letting staff go.

In August, the ministry had said retrenchments were still well below the levels typically seen in downturns and described labour demand as resilient. Its tone this time was more guarded. MOM said employers remained cautious amid economic uncertainty and that conditions were uneven across sectors.

Hiring intentions recover, but not fully

Forward-looking indicators were mixed. The share of firms expecting to add staff over the next three months jumped to 42.3% in September from 30.5% in August, and the share planning pay increases rose to 19.9% from 16.9%. Both readings were still below July's levels, the ministry said, a sign that companies remain wary of committing to new hires and wage rises.

The proportion of employers expecting to cut jobs rose to 3.1% from 2.8%. MOM linked that increase, together with the higher actual retrenchment count, to the soft patches it flagged.

The ministry said the government would review existing support schemes and strengthen them where appropriate. Current programs include the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, which gives eligible involuntarily unemployed workers up to S$6,000 over six months while they look for work, and a job-redesign grant that covers up to 70% of qualifying costs, capped at S$150,000 per company.

NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng welcomed the employment growth but said the bigger question was whether workers could take up the new roles. "It is more important whether our workers can access these opportunities," he said, according to the union. Assistant Secretary-General Yeo Wan Ling urged employers to consider retraining and redeploying staff before resorting to layoffs.

The fuller picture comes with MOM's Labour Market Report for the third quarter, due in mid-December, which will add job vacancy counts, sector-level employment data and re-employment rates for retrenched residents.