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TL;DR
Singapore reported 4,800 retrenchments in the third quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly count since late 2020, while total employment continued to grow. Official data points to business reorganisation as the main driver; separately, graduates are finding it harder to secure permanent work, but the figures do not show mass layoffs of young workers caused by AI.
Singapore recorded 4,800 retrenchments in the third quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly total since late 2020, according to preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Manpower on October 30. The increase comes as graduates face weaker employment outcomes, but the available data points to business reorganisation, not AI, as the main stated reason for layoffs; overall employment still grew during the quarter.
Retrenchments rose from 4,620 in the second quarter and 3,670 in the third quarter of 2025. The last higher quarterly figure was 5,640 in the fourth quarter of 2020, during the pandemic. Despite the increase, the retrenchment rate remained at 2.0 per 1,000 employees. The Ministry said layoffs remained elevated in selected outward-oriented sectors, including information and communications, financial services and manufacturing, with business reorganisation continuing as the main driver.
Other indicators present a mixed picture. Total employment increased by 27,700 in the third quarter, more than the 11,400 added in the previous quarter, while the overall unemployment rate remained at 2.0% in September. The resident unemployment rate was 3.0% and the citizen rate was 3.1%. At the same time, the share of firms planning to retrench edged up from 2.8% to 3.1%, even as the share planning to hire rose from 30.5% in August to 42.3% in September.
The graduate figures describe a separate pressure. At Singapore’s six public universities, 83.4% of job-seeking graduates from the class of 2025 found work within six months, down from 87.1%. The share securing full-time permanent jobs fell from 79.4% to 74.4%; for arts, design and media graduates, it was 50%. Those results indicate a tougher transition into work, not evidence that large numbers of young graduates have been laid off.
Infographic 01 · The numbers
Singapore's layoffs climb to a near six-year high
Retrenchments have risen in each of the last five quarters while employment kept growing. The official reason is restructuring.
Retrenchments per quarter
Number of employees laid off · selected quarters · rounded to the nearest 10
3Q 2026 by sector
Main driver: business reorganisation · elevated in information and communications, financial services, manufacturing
Mixed signals for the next quarter
Share of firms, August → September 2026
- Expect to hire in the next 3 months30.5% → 42.3%
- Expect to raise wages16.9% → 19.9%
- Expect to retrench2.8% → 3.1%MOM: “emerging weaknesses … that warrant close monitoring”
The economy grew 5.9% year on year in 2Q 2026 (MTI). Rising layoffs in a growing economy point to restructuring rather than a collapse in demand. The 3Q figures are preliminary; the full report follows in mid-December 2026.
Sources: MOM Labour Market Advance Release 3Q 2026, 30 Oct 2026; MOM Labour Market Report 2Q 2026, 21 Sep 2026; MOM Labour Market Report 1Q 2021 (4Q 2020 figure).
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Layoffs and Graduate Hiring Diverge
The distinction matters for workers and policymakers. Retrenchments measure people losing jobs, while graduate employment outcomes show how readily new entrants find work and what kind of roles they secure. Treating both as proof of the same AI-driven layoffs would blur different labour-market problems and could lead to poorly targeted responses.
The data instead show rising layoffs alongside employment growth, a pattern consistent with parts of the economy changing their structure while other employers continue to add staff. For graduates, lower placement and permanent-job rates can mean a longer search or a less secure first role, even if they are not counted among retrenched workers. That may affect early career development and access to the experience needed for future jobs.
AI remains part of the policy debate, but the figures do not establish it as the cause of Singapore’s current retrenchment increase. In an April survey cited in the source material, only 6.2% of firms that had adopted AI said they had reduced headcount after adopting it. That finding does not rule out AI-related changes at particular employers; it does caution against attributing the national rise to AI without more direct evidence.
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What the Labour Data Measures
The third-quarter figures come from the Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Market Advance Release, published October 30. They are preliminary. The fuller report, expected in mid-December, is due to provide additional sector details and information on workers’ re-entry into employment.
The latest release does not give a full breakdown of who was retrenched by age, occupation and reason. The closest detail in the supplied material is from the second quarter: 3,950 of 4,620 retrenched workers were professionals, managers, executives or technicians. Workers under 30 had the lowest retrenchment rate among age groups, according to the cited figures. Those second-quarter details should not be treated as a complete profile of the people affected in the third quarter.
Across Southeast Asia, the International Labour Organization estimates that about 80 million workers have some exposure to generative AI in their jobs. It reports no evidence so far of large-scale job losses attributable to the technology. It has, however, observed that youth employment in highly exposed jobs fell faster than overall employment in the Philippines and Thailand. Exposure to AI does not by itself show that a job has been replaced.
“The bottom rung of the career ladder”
— Prime Minister Lawrence Wong
AI’s Role Is Not Yet Measured
The preliminary third-quarter release does not assign a share of retrenchments to AI, and Singapore’s layoff statistics do not have a separate AI category. The cited April survey offers a limited measure of firms that reported cutting headcount after adopting AI; it does not identify every way the technology may have changed hiring, job duties or staffing decisions.
The final third-quarter data may clarify which industries and workers were affected and how quickly retrenched employees returned to work. The figures provided so far do not show the age or occupation profile of all 4,800 people retrenched in the quarter. Nor do graduate employment rates alone explain why permanent jobs became less common, or how much AI contributed to that shift.
Full Q3 Breakdown Due in December
The Ministry of Manpower is expected to publish its full third-quarter labour report in mid-December, with more detail on sectors and re-entry rates. That release should help establish whether the increase was concentrated in particular industries and how affected workers fared afterward.
For now, the ministry says it will monitor the labour-market weaknesses signalled by higher retrenchments and retrenchment intentions. Employers’ hiring plans, the next unemployment figures and graduate outcomes will help show whether the current pattern persists. The available evidence supports concern about both restructuring and a tougher entry-level job market, but it does not yet establish AI as the cause of Singapore’s rising layoffs.
Key Questions
How many people were retrenched in Singapore in the third quarter of 2026?
Singapore recorded 4,800 retrenchments in preliminary third-quarter figures. The Ministry of Manpower released the data on October 30.
Were the layoffs caused by AI?
The available figures do not establish that. The Ministry identified business reorganisation as the main driver, and its retrenchment statistics do not have a separate category for AI-related layoffs.
Are Singapore’s graduates being laid off in large numbers?
The supplied data does not show that. It indicates that graduates had a harder time securing work: 83.4% of job-seeking graduates from the 2025 class at six public universities found work within six months, down from 87.1%.
Is Singapore’s overall employment falling?
No. Total employment increased by 27,700 in the third quarter, while the overall unemployment rate held at 2.0% in September. At the same time, retrenchments and firms’ retrenchment intentions rose.
When will more detailed third-quarter data be available?
The Ministry of Manpower is expected to publish the full third-quarter labour report in mid-December, including additional sector detail and re-entry rates.
Source: ThorstenMeyerAI.com
