SINGAPORE, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Singapore's retrenchment rate in the third quarter of 2026 hit its highest level since the height of the COVID pandemic in late 2020, driven by business reorganisations, the manpower ministry said on Friday.
• Layoffs rose to 4,800 in the third quarter of this year, from 4,620 in the second quarter, the ministry said in its labour market report
• The ministry noted that retrenchments remain elevated in outward-oriented sectors
• The figure for July to September 2026 is the highest since the 5,640 layoffs recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020 during the COVID pandemic
• Retrenchments fell after 2020 when Singapore's population declined, with travel curbs and job losses encouraging foreign workers to leave the business hub, creating a tighter labour market
• Singapore's overall unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.0% in September 2026, but resident and citizen unemployment rates edged up to 3.0% and 3.1%, from 2.9% and 3.0% in August, respectively
• The ministry said the share of companies expecting to retrench over the next three months edged up to 3.1%, from 2.8% a month earlier
• "While the labour market continued to expand, retrenchments remained elevated and, together with higher intentions to retrench, point to emerging weaknesses in parts of the labour market that warrant close monitoring," the ministry said
• Total employment grew by 27,700 in the third quarter of this year, higher than the 11,400 in the second quarter and 25,100 in the same quarter a year earlier
(Reporting by Jun Yuan Yong; Editing by David Stanway)