(June 15): Singapore’s retrenchments climbed to their highest level in almost three years in the first quarter as firms continued to reorganise their businesses amid a more uncertain economic backdrop.
Lay-offs rose to 3,830 in the January-to-March period from 3,690 in the previous quarter, according to a Ministry of Manpower report released Monday. The figure was the highest since the third quarter of 2023, when 4,110 workers were retrenched.
Reorganisation or restructuring remained the main driver of job cuts, while lay-offs increasing in sectors including manufacturing, financial and insurance services, and professional services, it said.
The higher retrenchment figure comes as employers grow more cautious about the outlook. More than half of Singapore companies polled by an industry group in April said they were concerned about labour costs, while the Monetary Authority of Singapore warned that labour demand could soften this year due to increasing uncertainties.
Companies including Sea Ltd’s Shopee and Meta Platforms Inc have announced workforce reductions in recent months as they reshape operations and redirect spending toward new priorities such as artificial intelligence.
Still, the country’s broader labour market continued to show resilience. The unemployment rate held at 2%, while the share of retrenched residents who found a new job within six months rose to 60.7% compared with the previous quarter, according to the report. There were also 73,300 job vacancies at the end of March, exceeding the number of unemployed residents.
See also: Singapore companies most cautious about global expansion, says accounting group
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