MOM report shows unemployment rate rise for under-30s and an increase in employee working hours
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released its Labour Market Report for the Second Quarter (Q2) of 2025, showing a slight increase in the unemployment rate among young residents.
Residents under 30, which includes Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs), saw the rate go from 5.4% in March 2025 to 5.7% in June.
However, their long-term unemployment rate decreased from 1.2% to 1.1% in the same time period.
MOM finds overall unemployment rate decreasing
The residents aged 60 and over also saw a small increase in unemployment rate in Q2 2025, reaching 2.5% from a previous 2.3% in March.
Source: Ministry of Manpower
Singapore residents from all other age groups saw a dip in their unemployment rates.
The overall unemployment rate for Singapore residents decreased from 2.9% in March to 2.8% in June.
Source: Ministry of Manpower
Similarly, the resident unemployment rate declined across all education groups except degree holders, which rose from 0.1% to 2.9% in June.
MOM stated that resident unemployment rates generally “stayed low and range bound”, with the long-term rate remaining stable.
Employment grows for both residents & non-residents
Total employment grew by 10,400 in Q2 2025, consisting of 2,600 residents and 7,800 non-residents.
The gains improved on the employment growth in Q1 2025 — 200 residents and 2,000 non-residents.
Financial & Insurance Services, as well as Health & Social Services, saw the largest resident employment growth due to steady demand.
Work Permit holders led non-resident employment growth in areas like construction work.
MOM stated that the labour market remains resilient and employment growth is widespread across industries.
Employees working more hours weekly compared to March 2025
The Q2 2025 report found that employees worked 43.2 paid hours weekly on average, an increase from 43.1 hours in Q1.
Average weekly paid overtime hours worked per employee also rose from 1.9 hours to 2.0.
However, weekly paid hours worked remain on a long-term downward trend.
Source: Ministry of Manpower
MOM found that productivity increased despite lower working time, indicating improved efficiency in Singapore’s labour market.
Fewer firms planning to hire in Q3 2025
Job vacancies also fell from 81,100 in March to 76,900 in June.
The number of vacancies remained higher than the number of unemployed people, at a ratio of 1.35.
Source: Ministry of Manpower
Overall, MOM expects slower hiring and moderated wage growth in the future due to global uncertainty.
Firms with plans to hire in Q3 2025 decreased from 44% to 43.7%, and those with intended wage increases fell from 24.4% to 22.4%.
MOM concluded that Singapore’s labour market remains stable, but with more selective growth expected in the coming months.
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60% of workers in S’pore living paycheck to paycheck, higher than regional peers
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