SINGAPORE: More residents were employed in higher-skilled sectors like finance in 2024, while resident employment in lower-skilled sectors like food and beverage declined.
Overall, resident employment grew by 8,800 last year, reversing the decline of 4,600 in 2023, according to latest data released by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) on Wednesday (Mar 19).
In higher-skilled sectors, there were 5,300 more residents employed in financial and insurance services, 5,200 more in health and social work, 5,000 more in professional services and 4,200 more in information and communications.
In lower-skilled sectors, resident employment fell by 2,100 in food and beverage services, and by 700 in administrative and support services.
Citizens make up about 85 per cent of the resident workforce, with permanent residents accounting for the remainder.
The labour market remained tight in the fourth quarter of the year, with 1.64 job vacancies for every unemployed person in December 2024.
There were 77,500 vacancies in December 2024, more than 61,500 in September 2024.
About 70 per cent of these vacancies were for jobs typically filled by residents. These are jobs in professional services, information and communications, financial and insurance services and health and social services, said MOM.
The roles include financial analysts and advisors, software, web and multimedia developers, systems analysts, accountans, sales and business development managers, and management and business consultants.
Mr Ang Boon Heng, director of the manpower research and statistics department, said MOM’s near-term view was that the labour market would continue to expand in 2025.
In the first three months of 2025, “more companies have told us they are expanding their manpower, more companies are saying that they want to raise the wages of their employees”, he said at a media briefing.
The proportion of firms intending to raise wages in the next three months doubled from 15.6 per cent to 31.6 per cent between September and December 2024.
The proportion of firms intending to hire in the next three months also rose, from 43.2 per cent in September 2024 to 46.3 per cent in December 2024, based on MOM’s surveys.
The increase in job vacancies in Q4 was an indicator of employer confidence, said Mr Ang. But he highlighted that there would be many uncertainties due to global trade tensions that might intensify.
Non-resident employment growth slowed to 35,700 last year, compared to 83,500 in 2023. The growth was mostly among work permit holders filling blue-collar jobs that residents were less likely to take, said MOM.
“The number of Employment Pass and S Pass holders was broadly stable following significant increases in the past two years, as companies adjust to COMPASS and the higher qualifying salary requirements,” added the ministry.
Total employment growth was 44,500 last year, down from 78,800 in 2023. On a quarterly basis, labour market expansion slowed from Q3, reaching 7,700 in Q4.
UNEMPLOYMENT LOW, RETRENCHMENTS FALL
Unemployment rates remained low and stable in December 2024, at 1.9 per cent overall, 2.8 per cent for residents and 2.9 per cent for citizens.
There were 13,020 retrenchments last year, fewer than the 14,590 in 2023.
However, retrenchments rose from 3,050 in Q3 to 3,680 in Q4. The increase was mainly in financial and insurance services as a higher proportion of firms retrenched due to high costs.
The retrenchments were not “widespread” across companies and industries, but rather, “pockets of retrenchments” or layoffs in specific sectors contributed to the increase, said Mr Ang.
The number of employees placed on short work week or temporary layoffs increased to 660. MOM said this was still low, at pre-pandemic levels of less than 1,000.
The rate of re-entry into employment within six months of retrenchment dropped slightly, from 60.4 per cent in Q3 to 58.1 per cent in Q4.
MOM noted that the economy is projected to grow at a slower pace of 1 to 3 per cent in 2025, due to ongoing global trade frictions and potential disruptions to the global disinflation process.
“Against this backdrop, MOM expects the labour market to continue to expand in 2025, at least in the first quarter of 2025,” said the ministry in a press release.
“Based on MOM’s surveys, the percentage of employers expecting to increase wages and headcount in the next three months rose in December 2024 compared to September 2024.
“However, should trade tensions intensify and slow down the Singapore economy, labour market performance may soften notwithstanding labour market tightness.”
You may also be interested in:
