[SINGAPORE] The unemployment rate of Singapore residents younger than 30 rose to 5.7 per cent in June, said the Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Market Report on Wednesday (Sep 17).
This was even as Singapore’s overall unemployment rate stayed stable at 2 per cent, and both citizen and resident unemployment rates eased.
The citizen unemployment rate fell to 2.9 per cent in June, down from 3.1 per cent in March. For residents, it edged down to 2.8 per cent, from 2.9 per cent.
The young generally have higher unemployment rates because of “greater job search activities”, said Ang Boon Heng, director of MOM’s manpower research and statistics department, at a media briefing. “They move about more.”
In June, resident unemployment rates fell for all but two age groups: those under 30 and those aged 60 and above. For those under 30, the 5.7 per cent rate was above March’s 5.4 per cent, but still within the pre-recessionary range of 4.9 to 6.1 per cent.
For those above 60, the unemployment rate rose to 2.5 per cent, from 2.3 per cent in March.
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No prolonged difficulties
The latest data mirrors reports of fresh graduates having difficulties getting jobs, noted Ang.
Speaking to media at a company visit to CapitaLand, Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng noted that these difficulties are partially due to the increased pool of jobseekers.
About 2,400 more fresh graduates joined the labour market this year, compared to previously, as more are putting off further studies or taking gap years, feeling added pressure to find work “because of the angst, because of what’s happening around the global economy”, Dr Tan said.
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But Ang highlighted that as at June, 9,300 or 51.9 per cent of this year’s fresh graduates had found jobs. This was up from 47.9 per cent in the year-ago period, for the previous cohort.
A year after graduation, unemployment rates usually fall to about 6 per cent, in line with the rate for those aged 25 to 29, he added.
Nor is this group likely to stay unemployed for long. In June, their long-term unemployment rate improved to 1.1 per cent, from 1.2 per cent in March.
“Overall, our findings would suggest there’s no prolonged job search difficulties for young residents and degree graduates,” Ang said.
The overall long-term unemployment rate for residents held steady at 0.9 per cent in June.
Employment grows
MOM said that the labour market remained resilient in Q2, in line with the economy’s continued expansion.
Total employment, excluding migrant domestic workers, rose by 10,400 in the quarter, improving from Q1’s muted 2,300 increase. This comprised an increase of 2,600 residents (up from 200 in Q1) and 7,800 non-residents (up from 2,000 in Q1).
Resident employment continued to rise in growth sectors such as health and social sciences.
But there were signs of labour market softening in outward-oriented sectors such as professional services as well as information and communications, which MOM attributed to macroeconomic uncertainty due to the evolving tariff situation.
Non-resident employment growth was mainly driven by Work Permit holders in roles such as construction labourers, bus and truck drivers.
Employment growth was widespread across industries in Q2, with a reading of 56.2 on MOM’s Employment Diffusion Index (EDI).
A reading of 50 indicates a balance between industries where employment grows or contracts. A higher reading means more industries have job growth, while a lower one means more are seeing declines.
When growth is concentrated in fewer industries than before, the EDI falls. Conversely, the EDI may rise with broader-based growth, even if overall employment growth moderates.
The Q2 2025 figure lies between those for Q2 2023 (58.9) and Q2 2024 (54.4), despite a moderation in overall employment growth.
“The EDI suggests that underlying labour market conditions are stronger than headline figures alone might indicate,” MOM said.
Vacancies and retrenchments ease
Job vacancies saw a broad-based decline but remained high, with 76,900 in June, down from 81,100 in March.
Correspondingly, the job vacancy rate fell to 2.9 per cent, from 3.2 per cent before. But there were still more vacancies than jobseekers, with the ratio at 1.35.
Vacancies typically filled by residents – about seven in 10 of total vacancies – remained robust in growth sectors such as financial and insurance services, professional services, and information and communications.
Retrenchments remained low at 3,540 or 1.4 per 1,000 employees, decreasing slightly from 3,590 in Q1.
Retrenchments rose in information and communications, as well as financial and insurance services. But MOM noted that these sectors are “more dynamic in nature” and remain top hirers, based on vacancies.
Reorganisation or restructuring (67 per cent) remained the main reason for retrenchments. Fewer retrenchments were due to poor business or business failures (16 per cent), cost concerns (14.3 per cent), or a recession or downturn in the industry (5.4 per cent).
The resident re-entry rate into employment, within six months of retrenchment, dipped to 56.3 per cent from 60.6 per cent in Q1, led by non-professionals, managers, executives and technicians.
“Re-entry outcomes of those retrenched tend to improve over time,” MOM noted. For those retrenched 12 months ago, the re-entry rate was higher at 71.2 per cent, suggesting a longer job search.
Given the “pretty stable” vacancy numbers, this could be due to their preferences rather than a lack of available jobs, said MOM.
Looking ahead, uncertainty will likely slow hiring and moderate wage growth, particularly in outward-oriented sectors, said MOM. This is also reflected in surveys for Q3 hiring plans and wage expectations.
Meanwhile, retrenchments “may rise modestly but remain low”.
“Overall, the labour market remains on a stable footing, though early signs of easing point to more selective growth in the months ahead,” the ministry said. It expects the EDI to fall, with a gradual shift from broad-based to more sector-driven employment growth.
While there is now a “mixed picture”, with stronger growth in domestic industries than outward-oriented ones, Dr Tan expects shifts in the labour market to come gradually. The government is preparing for changes ahead, particularly from the last quarter, which is why it has planned for the Graduate Industry Traineeships (Grit) programme to begin in October, he said.
But over providing with traineeships that run too long could lead to a “worse proposition” of “cannibalising” workers’ abilities to look for actual jobs available, he said, noting that Grit is coupled with other initiatives such as career fairs, to provide “broad-based support”.
“If, in the first quarter of 2026, things continue to worsen, we have drawer plans in place that we will activate to support Singaporeans.”
