Labour Market Advance Release – Fourth Quarter 2024

Overview

1. Advance estimates showed that the labour market continued to expand in 4Q 2024. Consequently, total employment¹  grew in 2024, although the rate of expansion slowed compared to 2023. Resident employment grew in 2024 after registering a decline in 2023. More residents were employed in higher-skilled sectors including Professional Services and Financial Services, as well as in Health & Social Services. On the other hand, non-resident employment growth moderated in 2024 compared to 2023, with hiring in Construction driving up employment of Work Permit (WP) holders.

2. The total number and incidence of retrenchments in 2024 were lower than in 2023, and remained within non-recession norms. Business reorganisation or restructuring was the primary reason for retrenchments in 2024. With sustained labour demand², unemployment inched up from September to December but remained low overall.

 
Main Findings³

Total employment continued to grow, though at a moderated pace for both residents and non-residents

3. Employment growth for both residents and non-residents was slower in 4Q 2024 compared to 3Q. As a result, total employment growth slowed from 22,300 to 8,700 in 4Q, though it was still higher compared to a year ago in 4Q 2023 (3,900).

4. Resident employment continued to grow in higher-skilled sectors such as Professional Services, Financial Services, and Health & Social Services, as demand held up. There was also an uptick in Retail Trade due to year-end seasonal hiring, following declines in earlier quarters.

5. Similar to past quarters, the increase in non-resident employment was concentrated in the Construction sector, driven mainly by hiring for lower-skilled jobs held by WP holders. Non-resident employment declined in outward-oriented sectors such as Information & Communications and Insurance Services.

6. For the full year of 2024, employment rose for both residents and non-residents, although overall growth (45,500) was slower compared to 2023 (78,800) when the number of WP holders increased significantly.

Number of retrenchments increased in 4Q but remained around non-recession levels

7. The number of retrenchments increased from 3,050 in 3Q to 3,600 in 4Q, but remained around non-recession levels⁴.

8. Despite the rise in retrenchments in 4Q, retrenchments were lower in 2024 (12,930) compared to 2023 (14,590), with no significant increases across sectors. The incidence of retrenchment also declined from 6.7 retrenched per 1,000 employees in 2023 to 5.8 in 2024. Throughout 2024, business reorganisation or restructuring remained the primary reason for retrenchments.

Unemployment rates remained low

9. Unemployment rates for residents and citizens rose slightly from September to October 2024 (resident: from 2.6% to 2.8%; citizen: from 2.7% to 2.9%), but held steady in November and December, within the typical range for non-recession periods⁵. The overall unemployment rate remained unchanged at 1.9%.

10. In 2024, the unemployment situation remained relatively stable and low throughout the year, and annual rates remained broadly consistent from 2023 (overall: 2.0% in 2024 vs. 1.9% in 2023; resident: 2.8% vs. 2.7%; citizen: unchanged at 2.9%).

Conclusion

11. With the improving economic environment⁶, MOM expects the labour market to maintain its growth trajectory going forward. MOM’s forward-looking polls in December 2024 found that the proportion of companies expecting to hire more workers increased from 43% in September to 46% in December. Additionally, 32% of companies plan to raise wages – double the 16% in September. Nevertheless, given the sustained uncertainty in the global economy, employers and workers need to press on with transformation and upskilling to adapt to changes and seize new opportunities.

12. In particular, employers should recognise the increasing manpower constraints as the resident workforce ages and shrinks in the longer term. With an already high resident labour force participation rate by international standards and low resident unemployment, there is limited headroom for resident employment to keep expanding. Employers need to maximise the potential of their employees by investing in human capital development. To maintain Singapore’s economic competitiveness and complement our resident workforce, we will need to remain open to foreign investments and global talent, which will in turn generate more opportunities for local businesses and quality jobs for Singaporeans.

a. The Government calls on employers to make full use of available resources and programmes to remain competitive. WSG has worked with sector agencies to launch 17 Job Transformation Maps (JTMs) which provide actionable insights into the impact of technology and automation on businesses and jobs. Employers can also tap on the Support for Job Redesign under Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG-JR) to redesign jobs and make them more productive and attractive to jobseekers.

b. Employers embarking on investment, innovation, and internationalisation projects can work with their respective sector agencies to access foreign talent through the Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities Scheme, or score bonus points under the Strategic Economic Programmes criteria in the Complementary Assessment Framework.

13. Singaporeans too need to respond to changing business needs by embracing upskilling, new jobs, and new careers. The Government will continue to support Singaporeans in every step of their career journeys.

a. Through Career Health SG, the Government will empower Singaporeans to take charge of their careers and navigate changes in the economy and jobs. Workers can make use of the CareersFinder feature on Workforce Singapore’s (WSG’s) MyCareersFuture job portal, which harnesses data and artificial intelligence to explore career and training options that make use of their skills, experience, and pathways to reach their career goals. Singaporeans can also tap on career coaching and guidance services provided by WSG and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute, and the wide range of SkillsFuture training programmes.

b. As businesses restructure and job requirements shift, we will help workers to reskill for new jobs. WSG’s Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs), which support mid-career workers to undergo industry-recognised training, have been enhanced to provide greater salary support since April 2024. The Overseas Markets Immersion Programme, launched last year, also provides Singaporeans with more support and opportunities to gain valuable overseas work experience.

14. The Labour Market Report Fourth Quarter 2024, due for release in mid-March 2025, will provide a comprehensive assessment and more details of the labour market situation in 4Q 2024 and the full year of 2024. This will include resident and non-resident employment breakdowns⁷, sectoral data, number of job vacancies, labour turnover, and re-entry rates among retrenched residents.

For More Information

15. The full report is available online on the Ministry of Manpower’s Research and Statistics Department website at stats.mom.gov.sg/.

16. For data requests and queries pertaining to the report, please reach out to the Ministry of Manpower’s Research and Statistics Department at mom_rsd@mom.gov.sg.