​​​​​​​​​The labour market continued to expand in 3Q 2024, reflecting on-going economic growth. Total employment grew by 22,300 in 3Q 2024, nearly double the increase of 11,300 in the previous quarter, with both resident (4,000) and non-resident employment (18,200) rising.​

1. Resident employment grew in outward-oriented sectors such as Information & Communications, Professional Services and Financial Services. Non-resident employment also increased, primarily driven by the hiring of Work Permit (WP) holders in Construction and Manufacturing.
   
   
2. In September 2024, unemployment rates remained low, with the overall rate at 1.9%, resident rate at 2.6% and citizen rate at 2.7%. The number of retrenchments also stayed low, and the re-entry rate (6 months post-retrenchment) of retrenched residents improved to 60.4% in 3Q 2024, up from 55.0% in 2Q 2024.
   
   
3. ​Although labour demand showed a decline, with job vacancies falling to 63,400 in September 2024 from 81,200 in June 2024, the labour market remained tight with more job openings than unemployed persons (1.39 job vacancies for every unemployed person in September 2024). The upcoming year-end festivities is expected to give a further boost to labour demand.
   
   
4. Looking ahead, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) expects the labour market in 2024 to outperform 2023, with continued growth in employment and real wages as the economy expands and inflation moderates. While the labour market will likely remain tight with low unemployment, this tightness is expected to ease gradually as more job vacancies are filled. The number of job vacancies and the job vacancies to unemployed persons ratio are expected to adjust towards pre-pandemic levels over time.