{
  "id": 17200766,
  "title": "S’pore Q3 2026 retrenchments hit 4,800, a nearly six-year high",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/spore-q3-2026-retrenchments-hit-4-800-a-nearly-six-year-high",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-30T04:16:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Vulcan Post",
    "slug": "vulcan-post",
    "url": "https://vulcanpost.com/914236/retrenchments-unemployment-in-singapore-q3-2026/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Singapore's retrenchments surged to 4,800 in Q3 2026, marking a nearly six-year high, according to the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Labour Market Advance Release. The figure climbed by 3.9% from 4,620 retrenchments in Q2, surpassing the previous high of 5,640 layoffs in Q4 2020. Retrenchment incidence remained constant at 2.0 per 1,000 employees, with business reorganization as the main driver. Sectors such as information and communications, financial services, and manufacturing continued to experience elevated layoffs. However, total employment grew by 27,700 in the third quarter, extending Singapore's labour market expansion to a 20th consecutive quarter. Non-residents led employment growth, particularly in construction and manufacturing, while residents saw growth supported by essential and public services. Despite mixed forward-looking indicators, a MOM poll showed that more companies expected to hire and raise wages in the next three months. However, a slightly larger share anticipated retrenchments, suggesting employers remained cautious amid economic uncertainty. The overall unemployment rate remained low and unchanged at 2%, with resident and citizen rates up slightly. MOM warned that emerging weaknesses in parts of the labour market required close monitoring, emphasizing the need for companies to adapt and invest in their workforce while workers kept their skills relevant. The full labour market report for Q3 will be released in mid-December.",
  "summary": "Resident unemployment has climbed to 3% Retrenchments rose by 3.9% to 4,800 in Q3 2026, up from 4,620 in Q2, according to the latest Ministry of Manpower (MOM)’s Labour Market Advance Release on Friday (Oct 30). Retrenchments in Q3 2026 are the highest since the 5,640 layoffs recorded in Q4 2020. The incidence of retrenchment […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}