1. Total employment expanded by 11,400 in 2Q 2026, picking up from 9,400 in 1Q 2026 and 10,400 in 2Q 2025. The stronger quarterly increase was driven by non-resident employment, which grew by 9,200, up from 4,100 in the previous quarter mainly due to increases in Work Permit Holders in Construction and Manufacturing. Resident employment continued to grow, although the increase moderated from 5,400 to 2,200.
   ​​​
   
2. Unemployment rates remained low and stable in June 2026 (overall: 1.9%; resident: 2.9%; citizen: 3.0%). The resident long-term unemployment rate rose slightly from 0.9% in March 2026 to 1.0% in June 2026.​​​
   
   
3. ​Retrenchments rose from 3,830 (or 1.6 retrenched per 1,000 employees) in 1Q 2026 to 4,620 (or 2.0) in 2Q 2026. The increase was concentrated in outward-oriented sectors such as Manufacturing, Information & Communications and Financial Services, and continued to be driven mainly by business reorganisation or restructuring.
   
   
4. While the six-month re-entry rate among retrenched residents declined from 60.7% in 1Q 2026 to 54.9% in 2Q 2026, the twelve-month re-entry rate, which covers earlier retrenchment cohorts, remained broadly stable from 69.4% to 69.8% over the same period.
   
   
5. ​Job vacancies declined, mainly among PMET vacancies in Financial Services and Information & Communications. Nonetheless, vacancies continued to outnumber unemployed persons, with 1.48 vacancies per unemployed person in June 2026.
   
   
6. Forward looking indicators were mixed. MOM’s July 2026 polls on business expectations showed that the proportion of firms intending to hire in the next three months rose from 43.9% in June to 48.7% in July, while the proportion intending to raise wages eased from 29.3% to 27.9%. Both hiring and wage expectations remained below their February 2026 levels, suggesting that firms remained cautious about expanding headcount and raising wages.​
   
   

​​​​​​For more key findings, please refer to the executive summary​ of the report.​​​ ​