Understanding Singapore’s Labour Market Statistics and Publications

Official Labour Statistics

1. The labour market statistics released by the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) Manpower Research and Statistics Department (MRSD) facilitate informed decision-making within the Government and the community-at-large.

2. As the national statistical agency responsible for the production of official labour statistics, MRSD collects, compiles and publishes statistics in accordance with the Statistics Act and international standards. The statistical concepts and definitions used are aligned with standards recommended by the International Labour Organization. The statistics disseminated adhere to international standards set out by the International Monetary Fund.  More information can be found on https://stats.mom.gov.sg

Labour Market Surveys and Indicators

3. MOM publishes official labour market statistics several times a year.  These statistics are compiled using sources that include surveys on households, businesses, and administrative data. Surveys on households (mainly Labour Force Survey) provide information on the labour force, while surveys on businesses (mainly Labour Market Survey) provide information on labour demand.

4. Administrative data from the Central Provident Fund Board, work pass records as well as the monthly Labour Force Survey are the sources used to compile Employment Change. The frequency and measurement of this indicator are aligned to those used for national accounts.

5. The monthly Labour Force Survey collects data on unemployed persons to compute the Unemployment Rate. Once a year, the Comprehensive Labour Force Survey collects detailed information on the resident population based on the labour force framework set by the International Labour Organization. The data are used to compile statistics on internationally recognised labour force indicators such as Labour Force Participation Rate and Employment Rate. It also provides information on Income Growth.

6. The quarterly Labour Market Survey provides data pertaining to labour demand such as Retrenchment and Job Vacancies. The Re-Entry Rate into Employment for retrenched workers is compiled by matching retrenched workers from the Labour Market Survey with administrative data from the Central Provident Fund Board. Annually, the Job Vacancy Survey is conducted on businesses to collect detailed information on the nature and type of job vacancies.

7. Apart from the Labour Force Survey and Labour Market Survey, there are other topical surveys, for example, the Annual Wage Change Survey for statistics on Wage Change and firms’ wage practices.

Key Labour Market Publications

8. Data for the labour market indicators are released in the Monthly Unemployment Report, the quarterly Labour Market Report including the advance version (Labour Market Advance Release), the annual Labour Force in Singapore including the advance version (Labour Force in Singapore Advance Release), Job Vacancy Report and Report on Wage Practices.