Firms remain resilient ahead of the impact of Trump's looming tariffs
Singapore's labour market expanded at a slower pace in the first quarter of the year ahead of economic uncertainty from US tariffs, data from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) revealed.
MOM's latest Labour Market Report showed that employment growth eased to 2,400 in the first quarter, down from 7,700 in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Resident and non-resident employment both went up, by 300 and 2,000, respectively. However, they were also slower than the previous quarter's respective 1,400 and 6,300 hikes.
"Resident employment growth was uneven across sectors. Resident employment rose in Health & Social Services and Financial & Insurance Services but declined in Professional Services and Information & Communications," MOM said.
"Non-resident growth was led by Work Permit holders who were mainly working in positions which were less likely to attract resident applicants, such as bus and truck drivers."
Unemployment, retrenchments
The unemployment rate remained stable at two per cent across the months of the first quarter, but slightly went up from December's 1.9%, according to MOM.
Job retrenchments also eased slightly from 3,680 in Q4 2024 to 3,590 in 1Q 2025, with the incidence of retrenchment remaining at 1.5 retrenchments per 1,000 employees.
Reorganisation or restructuring remained the main reason for retrenchments, accounting for 69.9%. But there were fewer retrenchments resulting from:
- Concerns of high costs (13.7%)
- Poor business (9.5%)
- Recession (6.0%)
"These suggest that while firms are exercising caution in hiring, they are also holding back from deeper workforce cuts, reflecting a measured approach in workforce management amid ongoing economic uncertainty," MOM said in a statement.
Singapore's hiring intentions
When it comes to available roles, the volume of job vacancies went up to 81,100 in March 2025, with the vacancy rates increasing to 3.2% during the period.
"The job vacancy figures pertain to the period prior to the announcement of Liberation Day's tariffs, hence, have yet to reflect any potential impact from the tariffs," MOM said.
But even after the implementation of US President Donald Trump's tariffs, MOM said 42.2% of firms surveyed in the second quarter still planned to hire for the third quarter, up from the previous 40.5%.
"Although there was a modest increase in hiring intentions… this increase was not broad-based. It was largely driven by a few sectors – including Professional Services and Financial Services – while hiring sentiments softened in most other sectors," MOM said.
The Singapore government has been taking steps to cushion the impact of Trump's sweeping tariffs in Singapore and across the world. It recently established a taskforce to help businesses, workers, and unions navigate the uncertain time.
