
Hiring slows in Singapore, with fewer jobs and rising unemployment in Q1
Photo from: Freepik
SINGAPORE: According to Ministry of Manpower (MOM) data featured in a Singapore Business Review report, the city-state's employment growth slipped in the first quarter of 2025, with only 2,300 more people hired. This marks a substantial decrease from the 7,700 new jobs added in the final quarter of 2024 and the 3,200 created in the first quarter of 2024. There is sluggish growth in both resident and non-resident employment.
While the rise in resident employment is sustained in vital areas like social and financial services and healthcare, there was a decline in manufacturing, professional services, and information and communications. Concurrently, the resident unemployment percentage ticked up to 2.9%, whereas the citizen unemployment rate persisted at 3.1%. However, there is nothing to be worried about as MOM assured that these statistics are still within non-recessionary levels. Retrenchments decline, but hiring optimism fades
In a more encouraging sign, retrenchments fell to 3,300 in Q1 2025, down from 3,680 in the preceding quarter. The rate of cutbacks persisted at 1.3 per 1,000 employees. Most dismissals and downsizings resulted from business restructuring or reshuffling, with only an insignificant number attributed to industry slumps.
So far, employer confidence has diminished. While many businesses in December 2024 were planning to hire and engage people and increase their wages compared to the preceding months, by March 2025, only a few companies were expected to do so in the following quarter. And even though the labour market is still on an upward trend, MOM cautioned that the growing uncertainty in economies worldwide may place additional strain on the Lion City's job market in the coming months.
In a recent Reddit post, a netizen noted that one reason for problems in Singapore's job market is that Singaporeans are more status-conscious — they believe that having a degree should lead to an office job — compared to Americans and Europeans, who are more open to full-time iretail work even if they have a college degree.
Another commenter agreed, saying that nobody with a university degree would want to work in a factory or a restaurant. Adapting to change and being flexible
While Singapore's job market remained firm, there were signs of caution, with sluggish hiring, growing uncertainty, and diminishing employer confidence. A robust recovery will depend on employers' adjusting to change and job seekers remaining flexible in their career prospects.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
US and Chinese officials meet in London for pivotal trade talks
Officials arrive at the entrance to Lancaster House, on the day when the trade talks are due to take place in London between the U.S. and China, in London, Britain, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville Police officers stand on duty at the entrance of Lancaster House, on the day when the trade talks are due to take place in London between the U.S. and China, in London, Britain, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville Officials arrive at the entrance to Lancaster House, on the day when the trade talks are due to take place in London between the U.S. and China, in London, Britain, June 9, 2025. REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON - Top U.S. and Chinese officials were meeting in London on Monday to try to defuse a high-stakes trade dispute that has widened beyond tit-for-tat tariffs to restrictions over rare earths, threatening to cripple supply chains and slow global growth. Officials from the two superpowers were meeting at the ornate Lancaster House to try to get back on track with a preliminary agreement struck last month in Geneva that had briefly lowered the temperature between Washington and Beijing. Since then the U.S. has accused China of slow-walking on its commitments, particularly around rare earths shipments. U.S. economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday that the U.S. team wanted a handshake from China on rare earths after Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping spoke last week. "The purpose of the meeting today is to make sure that they're serious, but to literally get handshakes," Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, told CNBC in an interview. He said the expectation was that immediately after the handshake, export controls would be eased and rare earths released in volume. The talks, which could run into Tuesday, come at a crucial time for both economies, with investors looking for relief from Trump's cascade of tariff orders since his return to the White House in January. China's export growth slowed to a three-month low in May while its factory-gate deflation deepened to its worst level in two years. In the U.S., the trade war has put a huge dent in business and household confidence, and first-quarter gross domestic product contracted due to a record surge in imports as Americans front loaded purchases to beat anticipated price increases. But for now, the impact on inflation has been muted, and the jobs market has remained fairly resilient, though economists expect cracks to become more apparent over the summer. Attending the talks in London will be U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, and a Chinese contingent helmed by Vice Premier He Lifeng. The inclusion of Lutnick, whose agency oversees export controls for the U.S., is one indication of how central rare earths have become. China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets, a crucial component in electric vehicle motors. Lutnick did not attend the Geneva talks at which the countries struck a 90-day deal to roll back some of the triple-digit tariffs they had placed on each other. POSITIVE CONCLUSION The second round of meetings comes four days after Trump and Xi spoke by phone, their first direct interaction since Trump's January 20 inauguration. During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi told Trump to back down from trade measures that roiled the global economy and warned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, according to a Chinese government summary. But Trump said on social media the talks focused primarily on trade led to "a very positive conclusion," setting the stage for Monday's meeting in London. The next day, Trump said Xi had agreed to resume shipments to the U.S. of rare earths minerals and magnets and Reuters reported on Friday that China has granted temporary export licenses to rare-earth suppliers of the top three U.S. automakers. China's decision in April to suspend exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets upended the supply chains central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told the Fox News program "Sunday Morning Futures" that the U.S. wanted the two sides to build on the progress made in Geneva in the hope they could move towards more comprehensive trade talks. The preliminary deal in Geneva sparked a global relief rally in stock markets, and U.S. indexes that had been in or near bear market levels have recouped the lion's share of their losses. The S&P 500 Index, which at its lowest point in early April was down nearly 18% after Trump unveiled his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on goods from across the globe, is now only about 2% below its record high from mid-February. The final third of that rally followed the U.S.-China truce struck in Geneva. Still, that temporary deal did not address broader concerns that strain the bilateral relationship, from the illicit fentanyl trade to the status of democratically governed Taiwan and U.S. complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model. While the UK government will provide a venue for Monday's discussions, it will not be party to them and will have separate talks later in the week with the Chinese delegation. The dollar slipped against all major currencies on Monday as investors waited for news, while oil prices were little changed. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Business Times
a day ago
- Business Times
Arina East Residences sells 10 out of 107 units at average price of S$3,000 psf as booking opens
[SINGAPORE] Freehold development Arina East Residences sold about 9 per cent of its 107 units on Saturday (Jun 7), at an average price of about S$3,000 per square foot (psf). According to PropNex, seven units of the two-bedroom apartment, a three-bedroom, and two four-bedroom units were moved, with the transacted unit prices of these 10 apartments ranging from about S$2,880 to S$3,250 per square foot. The majority of the buyers of the Tanjong Rhu Road project by ZACD LV Development are believed to be Singaporeans, the real estate agency said in a media statement on Saturday. Chief executive officer of PropNex, Ismail Gafoor, said: 'Typically, we have observed that smaller projects with around 100 units in the development tend to see a more measured take-up rate at first, unlike the bigger projects with more units for buyers to choose from… Similar to many other smaller projects, we expect sales will likely move at a gradual pace over the coming months.' ERA, one of the joint marketing agents for the project, noted that the development only had a one-week preview before opening for sales bookings during school holidays, and that Saturday was a public holiday. CEO of ERA Singapore, Marcus Chu, pointed out that it was the first project launched in the area in a decade, and buyers recognised the project's strong potential for capital appreciation. 'The future BTO (Build-to-order) supply in the vicinity is projected to support investor exit strategies, providing a ready pool of upgraders in the long term.' While some agencies called the average price 'competitive', Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property search portal said that it is higher than its competitors, and that most homebuyers appear to be more price sensitive, especially in the current uncertain economic climate. 'Real estate developers have held back their project launches since April 2025 as the uncertain economic outlook hammers sentiments in the property market. Arina East Residences is the first major residential project to test the water since April. It appears that the market sentiment is still not favourable for project launches,' he said. Arina East Residences is built on the site of the former La Ville, a 40-unit property that was acquired by ZACD Group in December 2021 for S$152 million.
Business Times
a day ago
- Business Times
Arina East Residences sells 10 out of 107 units at average price S$3,000 psf as booking opens
[SINGAPORE] Freehold development Arina East Residences sold about 9 per cent of its 107 units on Saturday (Jun 7), at an average price of about S$3,000 per square foot. According to PropNex, seven units of the two-bedroom apartment, a three-bedroom, and two four-bedroom units were moved, with the transacted unit prices of these 10 apartments ranging from about S$2,880 to S$3,250 per square foot. The majority of the buyers of the Tanjong Rhu Road project by ZACD LV Development are believed to be Singaporeans, the real estate agency said in a media statement on Saturday. Chief executive officer of PropNex, Ismail Gafoor, said: 'Typically, we have observed that smaller projects with around 100 units in the development tend to see a more measured take-up rate at first, unlike the bigger projects with more units for buyers to choose from… Similar to many other smaller projects, we expect sales will likely move at a gradual pace over the coming months.' ERA, one of the joint marketing agents for the project, noted that the development only had a one-week preview before opening for sales bookings during school holidays, and that Saturday was a public holiday. CEO of ERA Singapore, Marcus Chu, pointed out that it was the first project launched in the area in a decade, and buyers recognised the project's strong potential for capital appreciation. 'The future BTO (Build-to-order) supply in the vicinity is projected to support investor exit strategies, providing a ready pool of upgraders in the long term.' While some agencies called the average price 'competitive', Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property search portal said that it is higher than its competitors, and that most homebuyers appear to be more price sensitive, especially in the current uncertain economic climate. 'Real estate developers have held back their project launches since April 2025 as the uncertain economic outlook hammers sentiments in the property market. Arina East Residences is the first major residential project to test the water since April. It appears that the market sentiment is still not favourable for project launches,' he said. Arina East Residences is built on the site of the former La Ville, a 40-unit property that was acquired by ZACD Group in December 2021 for S$152 million.