Datasets
Labour Market and Wage Policy Anchors
Dated Singapore unemployment rates by population base, 2025 employment growth splits, and Local Qualifying Salary / Progressive Wage framing — without a universal statutory minimum wage.
Labour Market and Wage Policy Anchors
Use each row with its stated population base, reference period, and unit. Employment growth in the Labour Market Report series excludes migrant domestic workers and is rounded to hundreds. Narrative interpretation lives in labour market and wages. Work-pass headcounts live in foreign workforce statistics; recurring LQS/CPF rates also appear in annual rates.
Population bases
| Term | Meaning in this dataset | Do not confuse with |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | Total labour force including non-residents | Resident-only or citizen-only rates |
| Resident | Singapore citizens and permanent residents | Citizens alone; non-resident Work Permit holders |
| Citizen | Singapore citizens only | Residents including PRs |
| Local (manpower rules) | Typically citizens and PRs in MOM foreign-worker rules | Non-resident employees |
Source: MOM Labour Market Report 4Q 2025 (footnote: resident = citizens + PRs), accessed 9 August 2026.
Unemployment — December 2025
| Metric | Value | Population / denominator | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall unemployment rate | 2.0% | Overall labour force | Dec 2025 |
| Resident unemployment rate | 2.9% | Resident labour force (citizens + PRs) | Dec 2025 |
| Citizen unemployment rate | 3.0% | Citizen labour force | Dec 2025 |
| Resident long-term unemployment rate | 0.9% | Resident labour force | Dec 2025 |
Source: MOM Labour Market Report 4Q 2025, accessed 9 August 2026. Never quote “the” unemployment rate without naming overall, resident, or citizen.
Employment change — 2025 (excludes migrant domestic workers)
| Metric | Value | Population / notes | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total employment growth | +55,500 | Excludes MDW; rounded to hundreds | Full year 2025 |
| Resident employment growth | +11,600 | Citizens + PRs; largely Financial Services and Health & Social Services | Full year 2025 |
| Non-resident employment growth | +43,900 | Driven largely by Work Permit hiring in Construction | Full year 2025 |
| Total employment growth (quarter) | +17,700 | 17th consecutive quarter of growth since 4Q 2021 | 4Q 2025 |
Source: MOM Labour Market Report 4Q 2025, accessed 9 August 2026. Do not mix resident and non-resident growth into one undated total without the split.
Latest quarterly snapshot — 1Q 2026
| Metric | Value | Population / notes | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total employment growth | +5,000 | Preliminary; excludes migrant domestic workers | 1Q 2026 |
| Overall unemployment rate | 2.1% | Overall labour force | Mar 2026 |
| Resident unemployment rate | 2.9% | Resident labour force (citizens + PRs) | Mar 2026 |
| Citizen unemployment rate | 3.1% | Citizen labour force | Mar 2026 |
| Retrenchments | 3,700 (1.5 per 1,000 employees) | Employees in scope of MOM retrenchment series | 1Q 2026 |
Source: MOM Labour Market Advance Release 1Q 2026, accessed 13 August 2026. The release labels 1Q 2026 data as preliminary; do not silently substitute these figures for the finalized 4Q 2025 rows above.
Vacancies and retrenchments — late 2025
| Metric | Value | Population / denominator | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Job vacancies | 77,700 | Seasonally framed MOM vacancy series | Dec 2025 |
| Job vacancy to unemployed persons ratio | 1.58 | Vacancies ÷ unemployed persons | Dec 2025 |
| Retrenchments | 3,690 (1.5 per 1,000 employees) | Employees in scope of MOM retrenchment series | 4Q 2025 |
| Annual retrenchment incidence | 6.3 per 1,000 employees (14,490 retrenched) | Full-year employee base | 2025 |
| Resident re-entry within 6 months | 57.4% | Residents retrenched who re-entered employment within 6 months | 4Q 2025 |
Source: MOM Labour Market Report 4Q 2025, accessed 9 August 2026.
Wage floors — no universal statutory minimum wage
| Anchor | Value | Population / applicability | As of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universal statutory minimum wage | None | No single floor for every employee in Singapore | Accessed 9 Aug 2026 |
| Progressive Wage Model (PWM) | Sector-/occupation-/level-specific minimum pay and training | Covered Singapore citizens and PRs in applicable PWM sectors/occupations | Accessed 9 Aug 2026 |
| Local Qualifying Salary (full-time) | S$1,800 gross/month | Local employees (citizens + PRs) not under a higher PWM, for firms that hire foreign workers; 35–44 hours/week | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Local Qualifying Salary (part-time) | S$10.50 gross/hour | Same employer condition; locals working under 35 hours/week | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Quota count at full LQS | Counts as 1 local worker | Local earning ≥ S$1,800/month | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Quota count at half band | Counts as 0.5 local worker | Local earning ≥ S$900 to below S$1,800/month | 1 Jul 2026 |
Sources: MOM What is PWM; MOM Local Qualifying Salary, accessed 9 August 2026. LQS is an employer condition for firms hiring foreigners, not a nationwide minimum wage for all employment.
Record details
- Also known as
- ["Singapore unemployment rate","LQS","Progressive Wage Model","PWM","labour market report"]
- Jurisdiction
- SG
- What each row represents
- one dated unemployment rate by population base, employment-growth split, vacancy/retrenchment metric, or LQS/PWM wage-floor anchor
- Update cadence
- after each MOM Labour Market Report or LQS/PWM threshold change
- Source format
- markdown
Dates describe this record’s own period and applicability. A verification date does not mean a rule is currently in force.
Sources
- MOM — Labour Market Report 4Q 2025 Accessed 2026-08-09
- MOM — Labour Market Advance Release 1Q 2026 Accessed 2026-08-13
- MOM — Local Qualifying Salary Accessed 2026-08-09
- MOM — What is the Progressive Wage Model? Accessed 2026-08-09
Collection as of 2026-10-07 · An expanding collection. Published counts show available knowledge, not complete coverage of Singapore.