Singapore’s labour market continued to grow in the first quarter of 2023 when compared to the prior quarter. Total employment expanded for the sixth consecutive quarter, according to data from the Ministry of Manpower Singapore.

Total employment (excluding Migrant Domestic Workers) expanded by 33,000 in Q1 2023, a smaller increase compared to the previous quarter (43,500). The moderation was observed for residents (Q422: 8,400; Q123: 2,800) and non-residents (Q422: 35,100; Q123: 30,200).

By March 2023, total employment was at 3.8% above the pre-pandemic level. While resident employment had earlier surpassed its pre-pandemic level, non-resident employment exceeded its pre-pandemic level for the first time and reached 1.7% above its pre-pandemic level as of March 2023.

The Ministry noted that in Q1 2023, resident employment grew strongly in financial services, public administration & education, professional services and health & social services. However, it declined in retail trade and food & beverage services as seasonal hiring for festivities ended. Non-resident employment growth was mainly in construction and manufacturing.

Unemployment rates (overall: 1.8%, resident: 2.6%, citizen: 2.7%) and resident long-term unemployment rate (0.6%) remained low in March 2023.

Meanwhile, layoffs continued to increase to 3,820 in Q1 2023 from 2,990 in Q4 2022. However, the number remained below the peak in 2020. The increase in layoffs in Q1 2023 was mainly driven by electronics manufacturing (670 to 1,190), information & communications (370 to 560) and financial services (260 to 540). Layoffs in other sectors have remained stable. Reorganisation or restructuring (47.7%) was the main reason for retrenchments, while 19.4% were due to recession or downturn.

Among laid off residents, the majority (71.7%) of those who were dismissed in Q3 2022 were able to find new jobs by Q1 2023. The rate of re-entry has fared well compared to the pre-pandemic level of 65.9% (Q4 2019).

The data also noted that labour market tightness eased as job vacancies declined for the fourth consecutive quarter to 99,600 in March 2023. The ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons remained high at 2.28, but also declined from December 2022 (2.33).

The vacancies in March 2023 were spread across different industries, particularly in the growth industries such as information & communications (8,100), health & social services (7,800), professional services (7,700) and financial services (6,300).