Recent news is full of reports of retrenchments, with the most prominent being GovTech. The government agency retrenched 93 workers in July as part of the first of three phases of workplace transformation and expects to let go of about 7% to 9% of its 3,900 workers over the next two years. Recently, Borneo Motors, the authorised dealer for Toyota and Lexus cars in Singapore, reportedly laid off a number of workers as well due to a restructuring exercise, though the exact number affected was not publicly disclosed.
Preliminary data releases by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) confirm that retrenchments are on the rise in Singapore. According to the latest Labour Market Advance Release, there were 4,500 retrenchments in Q2 2026, up 17.5% from 3,830 in Q1 2026. This is the highest since 4Q 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the fourth consecutive increase in quarterly retrenchments.
Source: Labour Market Advance Release Q2 2026, Ministry of Manpower
MOM’s report highlighted that many of these retrenchments occurred mainly due to business restructuring in outward-oriented sectors such as information & communications and manufacturing. Despite the rise, retrenchment numbers remain well below the peaks experienced during the 2009 Global Financial Crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Source: Labour Market Advance Release Q2 2026, Ministry of Manpower
Employment Growth Continues Despite Layoffs
The same MOM report does note that employment grew for the 19th consecutive quarter, with total employment growing by 10,700 in 2Q 2026, up from 9,400 in 1Q 2026. Employment among Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents continued to grow, though at a slower rate compared to the previous quarter. Employment growth was concentrated in essential and public services, such as the Transportation & Storage, Health & Social Services, and Public Administration & Education sectors.
As a result, unemployment rates continue to remain “low and stable”. Resident unemployment rates remained unchanged over the past four months at 2.9%. Citizen unemployment rates dropped from 3.1% in March and April to 3.05% in May and June.
Source: Labour Market Advance Release Q2 2026, Ministry of Manpower
Older Workers Most Affected by Retrenchments
This week, as Parliament discussed the recent GovTech retrenchments, Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau, revealed that workers in their 40s formed the largest group of retrenched and affected workers at 42%, while about 30% of the retrenched workers were above the age of 50. This is unfortunately in line with the broader data.
While the full Labour Market Report for Q2 2026 won’t be released till mid-September, data from the latest Labour Market Report for Q1 2026 reveals that retrenchment incidence was highest among workers aged 50 to 59, rising from 2.8 to 3.1 per 1000 employees. This was followed by those aged 40 to 49, at a rate of 2.3 per 1000 employees, a drop from the previous quarter.
Source: Labour Market Report 1Q 2026, Ministry of Manpower
Re‑Entry Into Employment Shows Improvement
Despite the rise in retrenchment, re-entry into employment is also on the rise. In Q1 2026, the resident rate of re-entry into employment within 6 months rose to 60.7% in Q1 2026. Re-entry prospects also improve with time, as 69.4% of those retrenched secured new employment within 12 months.
That said, the rate of re-entry into employment for retrenched residents is unsurprisingly lower the older they get, though there were meaningful gains among those aged 50 to 59, rising from 45.2% to 51.8%.
Source: Labour Market Report 1Q 2026, Ministry of Manpower
Fortunately, data also suggests that across most age groups, long-term unemployment rates remained broadly stable. However, there is a steady upward trend for those aged 40 to 49, rising from 0.6% in 2024 to 0.9% in 2026. Similar trends are also noticeable in those aged 30 to 39, as well as those aged 50 to 59.
Source: Labour Market Report 1Q 2026, Ministry of Manpower
In other words, while it is challenging for older workers to rejoin the workforce if they are retrenched, a majority do so within 6 months. The Ministry of Manpower continues to reiterate that these statistics suggest “resilient and generally favourable employment prospects for older workers”.
Efforts are already underway to help the retrenched workers at GovTech and Borneo Motors transition to new roles.
Ms Lau revealed in Parliament that almost 30 companies have offered more than 300 technology-related job vacancies to former GovTech employees. Meanwhile, the Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation is working with the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers’ Union to provide job matching and career coaching for former Borneo Motors employees.
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