S'pore's Q3 employment growth more than doubles as layoffs fall

The number of Singapore residents with jobs picked up in the third quarter of 2024, as employment growth surged and retrenchments fell.

- Sharon Salim Business Correspondent

Singapore's total employment in the July to September period grew by 24,100, more than doubling from the growth of 11,300 in the second quarter, according to preliminary labour market data released on Oct 29.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the pickup in growth came from both residents - Singaporeans and permanent residents (PRS) as well as non-residents.

Said the ministry: "While there was a decline in hiring and wage expectations among companies for the fourth quarter of 2024 - reflecting ongoing uncertainty in export-oriented sectors - we expect employment to continue to expand in the next quarter, and the labour market to remain tight.

"This outlook is supported by an upward revision to the GDP (gross domestic product) growth forecast and anticipated year-end hiring for the festive period." Meanwhile, the number of retrenchments in the third quarter fell 11.3 per cent to 2,900 from 3,270 in the second quarter.

MOM noted that these retrenchment figures decreased or remained stable across sectors. Corporate restructuring remained the top reason for retrenchments.

National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay said in a Facebook post on Oct 29 that retrenchments are holding steady as the manufacturing sector is performing better compared with the past two years.