Retrenchments in Singapore rose to 4,800 in the third quarter of 2026, reaching their highest level since late 2020 as business reorganizations spread across outward-oriented sectors.

Data released by the ministry in its labor market report on Friday showed layoffs climbed from 4,620 in the second quarter. The tally between July and September 2026 represents the largest volume of job cuts since 5,640 redundancies were recorded in the fourth quarter of 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

Total employment nevertheless grew by 27,700 during the quarter, accelerating from 11,400 additions in the second quarter and 25,100 a year earlier.

Official labor market data released on Friday shows that the rise in job cuts stemmed primarily from ongoing business reorganizations. Redundancies stayed elevated across outward-oriented segments, where firms face softer international demand and elevated operational overheads.

Total employment still expanded by 27,700 workers between July and September. That expansion exceeded the 11,400 positions added in the second quarter and outpaced the 25,100 roles created in the third quarter of 2025, revealing a split between aggressive workforce additions in select services and sharp downsizing elsewhere.

The city’s headline unemployment rate held at 2.0 per cent in September. Beneath that headline stability, local job conditions softened slightly.

0 per cent in the prior month. After 2020, tighter labor supplies and foreign worker departures had constrained headcount across commercial sectors, but corporate cost controls are now eroding that buffer.

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