According to the latest data released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Friday, the total unemployment rate in Singapore remains stable and low, at 2% overall and under 3% for local residents (citizens and PR). What’s more, hiring was strong in the third quarter of 2025, with nearly 30,000 jobs added, for a total of close to 50,000 this year (those figures include non-residents, though).
Image Credit: Ministry of Trade and Industry
Your personal situation, however, depends on what you do. And things are less rosy when we look at how specific industries are performing, as seven of them are reporting net losses totaling 19,800 people over the nine months of 2025.
Changes in employment by sector
Industry
Q1 2025
Q2 2025
Q3 2025
Total in 2025
Real Estate
-700
-2,500
-1,200
-4,400
Information & Communications
-1,600
-1,700
-800
-4,100
Professional Services
-1,200
-2,600
-300
-4,100
Retail Trade
-2,400
-2,300
900
-3,800
Wholesale Trade
700
300
-2,900
-1,900
Education
100
100
-1,100
-900
Food & Beverage Services
-100
-1,200
700
-600
Accommodation
100
-300
1,000
800
Administrative & Support Services
1,100
3,500
-2,700
1,900
Arts, Entertainment & Recreation
-200
900
1,400
2,100
Public Administration & Defence
1,500
100
800
2,400
Transportation & Storage
2,400
600
500
3,500
Manufacturing
-400
900
5,400
5,900
Health & Social Services
3,000
1,800
2,200
7,000
Financial & Insurance Services
2,500
5,700
2,100
10,300
Other Services
3,500
3,800
9,700
17,000
Construction
-1,000
5,800
13,700
18,500
TOTAL
6,900
12,900
29,900
49,700
Source: Economic Survey of Singapore, Third Quarter of 2025. / Ministry of Trade and Industry
What’s worse, most of the net growth industries (with a notable exception of Finance & Insurance) are at the lower end of the pay scale. Construction and migrant domestic workers make up the majority of new hires this year.
Meanwhile, high-value sectors employing qualified locals like IT, professional services, trade, or even real estate—clearly affected by the cooling measures enacted by the government to tame housing inflation—are bleeding thousands of jobs.
While MTI does not provide a detailed breakdown of employees’ residency status per industry, it’s quite clear which of them are dominated by locals and expats, and which employ mostly low-cost, temporary migrants or, at best, mid-level S-Pass holders working in support roles.
Information & Communications is a particularly interesting case, after otherwise positive news for the industry in Singapore reported earlier this year, with rising salaries and seemingly growing demand for talent as well (despite layoffs sweeping the rest of the world).
In practice, however, it is seeing a significant net reduction in employment—over 4,000 people this year and a total of 9,500 if we include 2024 as well—despite frequent complaints about a deficit of candidates.
Some consolation may be found in the observation that tech workers do not necessarily have to work in tech companies, as employers in other businesses have a burning need for qualified IT staff, too.
Other findings point to changing demands for specific tech skills, which may have led to reductions in some functional areas and deep, yet-to-be-filled gaps in others (like AI or anything that deals with data), explaining the reported lack of good applicants.
Image Credit: IMDA
Whatever it is, the fact remains that the headcount of the IT sector in Singapore has shrunk by nearly 10,000 people over the past two years. Even if most of them have found work elsewhere, it suggests problems in the technology industry.
Fortunately, not everybody has reasons to worry—especially those in Finance & Insurance Services, which are continuing their relentless climb, adding 10,300 workers this year, making up for some of the losses in other branches of the economy. Perhaps some of the new hires moved over there from IT.
That said, growing employment in banks does not seem to be enough to offset cuts in other places, and not everybody has the skills or even the desire to work in one of the big corporations. The economy needs a healthy diversity of career options, which, unfortunately, appear to be shrinking in Singapore this year.