Singapore retrenchment rates hit highest level since pandemic
Singapore’s retrenchment rate in the second quarter of 2026 hit its highest level since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2020, driven by business reorganisation and restructuring, the manpower ministry said on Monday. There were 4,620 retrenchments in the second quarter of this year, up from the 3,830 retrenchments posted in the first quarter of the year, the ministry said in its…
Singapore's retrenchment rate surged to its highest level since the Covid-19 pandemic in late 2020 in the second quarter of 2026, the manpower ministry reported on Monday. The ministry disclosed that 4,620 workers were laid off, a sharp increase from 3,830 in the previous quarter. This marks the highest figure since 5,640 retrenchments in the fourth quarter of 2020, during the pandemic.
The rise in retrenchments was primarily observed in sectors like manufacturing, information and communications, and financial services. The ministry attributed the dip in retrenchments post-2020 to a decline in Singapore's population due to travel restrictions and job losses, which led foreign workers to leave the country, creating a tighter labor market.
The ministry also noted that the proportion of retrenched workers who found employment within six months dropped to 54.9% in Q2 2026 from 60.7% in Q1, while the 12-month re-entry rate remained stable at 69.8%. The overall unemployment rate in Singapore stayed at 1.9%, with resident and citizen unemployment at 2.9% and 3%, respectively.
While job vacancies decreased, the ratio of vacancies to unemployed persons remained at 1.48 to 1 in June 2026.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
