Services account for most job cuts
The ministry's advance release put service-sector layoffs at 4,000 for July through September, compared with 700 in manufacturing and 100 in construction. Although the total increased, the layoff rate held steady at 2.0 per 1,000 employees.
Business reorganizations contributed to the rise, Reuters reported, citing the ministry's labor market report released Friday. The ministry also said layoffs remained elevated in export-oriented industries. According to The Business Times, the quarterly total has now edged higher for five consecutive quarters.
The last higher tally was in the fourth quarter of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic caused 5,640 job losses. Layoffs subsequently fell as some foreign workers departed Singapore. Pandemic travel restrictions and job losses drove those departures, leaving the labor market tighter.
UOB associate economist Jester Koh told The Business Times that job cuts in outward-oriented industries could reflect displacement linked to artificial intelligence as well as continuing cost adjustments. Maybank analyst Chua Hak Bin characterized the labor market as being in a "low hire, low quit" mode that could continue as AI tools become more widely adopted.
Employment expands despite layoffs
The third quarter's employment gain of 27,700 exceeded both the 11,400 added in the second quarter and the 25,100 added a year earlier. The Business Times reported that this was the 20th consecutive quarter of employment growth, with the quarterly gain up 10.4% from a year earlier.
Job listings also increased. A Jobstreet by Seek spokesperson told The Business Times that postings on its Singapore platform rose 8% from the previous quarter. Listings in information and communications technology and in electrical and electronics each posted double-digit increases. The spokesperson noted that an industry can experience both more job advertisements and job losses.
Unemployment and business plans show a mixed picture
September's overall unemployment rate was unchanged at 2%. Among permanent residents, however, it increased from 2.9% in August to 3%, while the citizen rate moved from 3% to 3.1%.
More businesses anticipated layoffs: 3.1% expected to cut jobs within the next three months, compared with 2.8% in the previous month's poll.
"Although the labour market continued to expand, the number of layoffs remained high. This, together with the increase in planned layoffs, points to emerging weaknesses in some segments of the labour market that warrant close monitoring," the Ministry of Manpower said.
Hiring and wage expectations improved in the ministry's September business polls. The share of firms planning to hire over the following three months reached 42.3%, up from 30.5% in August. Over the same period, the share expecting to raise wages increased from 16.9% to 19.9%. Both measures nevertheless remained below their July levels.
Fuller report scheduled for December
The ministry plans to publish its full third-quarter Labor Market Report in mid-December 2026. It will provide employment breakdowns for residents and non-residents, sector-level figures, vacancy counts, labor turnover data and rates of re-entry into employment among residents who were laid off.
