- Joined
- Sep 22, 2008
- Messages
- 93,196
- Points
- 113

LABOUR
Foreign workers take four in five Singapore jobs in 2025 as internal indicators signal a turning cycle
Singapore added 55,500 jobs in 2025, but roughly four in every five went to non-resident workers. Beneath the headline, outward-facing sectors shifted into net contraction, PMET retrenchments exceeded pre-recessionary norms, and labour turnover hit historic lows. The data points to a labour market tight on paper but loosening beneath the surface.The Online Citizen20 Mar 2026
AI-GENERATED SUMMARY
- Roughly four in every five jobs added in 2025 went to non-resident workers, with foreign labour growth outpacing resident gains by nearly four to one.
- Outward-sector Employment Diffusion Index fell to 43.9 in 4Q 2025, shifting into net contraction territory even as headline employment grew.
- PMET retrenchment incidence reached 10.1 per 1,000 resident employees in 2025, above the pre-recessionary norm, while Information and Communications employment declined outright.
Share

Singapore's labour market posted its 17th consecutive quarter of employment growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, with total employment expanding by 17,700 between October and December, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)'s Labour Market Report Fourth Quarter 2025 released on 20 March 2026.
For the full year, 55,500 jobs were added — but roughly four in every five went to non-resident workers. Resident employment grew by 11,600 while non-resident employment grew by 43,900, a ratio of nearly four to one that the records but does not examine in depth.
The quarterly growth figure represents a sharp deceleration from the 25,100 recorded in 3Q 2025 — and that deceleration is not isolated. It coincides with a shift into net contraction among outward-facing sectors. Beneath the headline, professional workers faced retrenchment rates above pre-recessionary norms, part-time hours were quietly reduced, and labour turnover fell to historically low levels.