Analysis: the job market in Singapore in 2025

Global and local economic conditions dictate the state of the labour market and the ability of businesses to attract and retain the best talent. Overall, the current outlook in Singapore is positive, although businesses remain cautious. In this article, we’ll review the 2024 labour market and look forward to hiring predictions for the job market in Singapore in 2025. 

The Ministry of Manpower labour market report from December 2024 shows that, throughout the year, unemployment rates remained stable and low. While the labour market expanded in the final quarter, there were signs of moderation. Employment growth was slower in quarter four than in quarter three, but was still higher than it was a year ago.  

Growth sectors such as professional services, financial services, and health & social services saw high demand, whereas jobs in construction, transportation & storage, and manufacturing declined, with a lot of positions filled by non-residents. 

With high operational costs throughout 2024, many roles were moved abroad. Economic uncertainty resulted in cautious hiring practices and, in consequence, there was a rise in contract positions over full-time, permanent hires. 

According to The Straits Times, 61% of workers found that the job search got more difficult in 2024. The main problem was finding a job that matched the individual’s criteria, followed by negotiating salary and benefits. From the employers’ perspective, over half of hiring professionals said it has become harder to find qualified talent. 

Singapore ranked second on the IMD’s World Talent Ranking in 2024, demonstrating that it remains attractive to global talent and has a skilled local workforce. It actively attracts international talent, who contribute to economic growth and diversity. 

Globally, the Singaporean job market is considered competitive, robust, and resilient, due to its steady growth and low unemployment. 

The Ministry of Manpower expects employment growth to slow in 2025, due to global uncertainties and market volatility, although it also notes that more companies plan wage increases. The number of companies planning to hire more workers increased to 46%. 

A report by The Business Times states that 45% of employers plan to hire in the first quarter of 2025. However, 20% of employers anticipate a decrease in staffing, and the overall net employment outlook is predicted to be 4% lower than last year.

The outlook for the transport, logistics, and automotive sectors looks particularly strong and the artificial intelligence, healthcare, and financial services sectors are still experiencing high demand. Singapore’s continued commitment to becoming a global hub for innovation and technology will ensure on-going demand in areas such as fintech, sustainability, AI, IoT, blockchain, and data analytics. 

Roles in engineering and food & beverage are sought after, as they are less at risk of elimination due to technological advancements.

Demand for certain skills is dropping off. These include manual labour-based skills, data entry, clerical skills, and basic customer service, which are increasingly outsourced to automation and AI. To mitigate this, employees need to continually upskill while employers need to provide relevant training courses to ensure their workforce is able to adapt to these changes.

What isn’t likely to change any time soon is the need for soft skills. Employees who can demonstrate problem solving, analysis, and critical thinking skills are the ones who can solve increasingly frequent productivity and efficiency challenges.  

Robert Walters predicts that job movers can anticipate a pay rise of between 12% and 15%, with salaries in high-demand areas increasing by up to 20%. However, they also predict that increments for employees staying with their current employer will fall to between 2% and 5%, demonstrating the need for employers to prioritise retention. The Ministry of Manpower found that 32% of companies plan to raise wages in 2025.

Recent reports identified that employees prioritise employers offering benefits relating to mental, physical, and financial wellbeing. Work-life balance, career development opportunities, and meaningful work are also in demand across the workforce.  

Naturally, compensation plays a key role in recruitment and retention, so employers must continue benchmarking salaries to remain competitive within the market whilst also offering benefits relevant to their workers. 

The Ministry of Manpower announced that retrenchments rose from 3,050 to 3,600 in the final quarter of 2024. Despite this rise, the annual total was lower than in 2023. The main reason for retrenchments was cited as business reorganisation or downsizing, rather than sector downturns or business closures, with the most affected sectors being manufacturing and services. 

The predicted hiring increases mean that Singapore is less at risk of a sharp rise in retrenchments in 2025, although retrenched employees would benefit from support in transitioning to a new role; a report by The Business Times in September 2024 noted that retrenched residents took longer to get back into jobs, with only 55% securing new roles within six months. 

When working with Careerminds, retrenched employees landed new roles within 11.5 weeks, on average. Add to that a 99% participant satisfaction rate and a 95% engagement rate, and it’s easy to see why working with an outsourcing partner makes sense, not just for the employee, but also for your business and the economy. 

From April 2025, the government is introducing a SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme, which will provide financial support for retrenched workers over a period of six months. To qualify, applicants must prove that they are actively job-seeking, have earned an average of $5,000 a month or less within the last 12 months, and have worked for six of the last 12 months. 

Careerminds specialises in supporting employees during retrenchments. We provide CV and LinkedIn optimisation, career coaching, and interview support, to get every affected individual back into meaningful work as soon as possible.

Providing outplacement isn’t just good for your employees; it’s good for your corporate brand too. Find out more about how we can help you by contacting one of our experts today. 

Jen David

Jen is a careers writer and CV specialist, with many years’ experience writing for leading careers platforms and her own business, CV Shed. She loves to support job seekers in progressing their careers, whether they’re looking to step up the ladder, take a sideways move, or change career entirely. She writes attention-grabbing CVs that show off her clients’ expertise and their value to a business, helping them to secure new roles quickly.

Jen also writes SEO blog content on a wide range of careers topics, for clients in the UK, US, Singapore and Australia. She has produced over 300 articles to date and also edits the work of other writers. She maintains her own blog to support job-seekers with up-to-date, best practice information on CVs, LinkedIn profiles and other related topics, and has a book available on Amazon Kindle, How to write a CV for the modern job market.