​​Total employment grew by 44,500 in 2024, with increases in both resident and non-resident employment. ​

1. Resident employment increased by 8,800, reversing the decline of 4,600 in 2023. This growth was mainly in higher-skilled sectors such as Financial & Insurance Services (5,300), Health & Social Work (5,200), Professional Services (5,000) and Information & Communications (4,200).
   
   
2. Non-resident employment grew at a slower pace in 2024 (35,700) compared to 2023 (83,500). The increase was mostly among Work Permit holders¹ (39,400 in 2024), who filled blue-collar jobs that residents were less likely to take.
   
   
3. The unemployment rates (overall: 1.9%, resident: 2.8%, citizen: 2.9%) and resident long-term unemployment rate (0.8%) remained low and stable in December 2024, reflecting continued labour market tightness. For full-year 2024, retrenchments were lower than the previous year. Similarly, the incidence of​ retrenchment (per 1,000 employees) remained low at 1.5 in 4Q 2024, similar to 4Q 2023.
   
   
4. In December 2024, job vacancies rose to 77,500, up from 61,500 in September 2024.
   
   
5. Notwithstanding global trade tensions, we expect the labour market to continue expanding in the near term. Based on MOM’s survey, the proportion of employers expecting to increase wages and headcount in the next three months rose in December 2024 compared to September 2024. However, should global trade tensions intensify leading to a deceleration in domestic economic growth, labour market performance is likely to soften as well.
   
   

^[1] The number of Work Permit holders includes those holding “other work passes”, i.e. Letter of Consent (LOC), pre-approved LOC, Training Work Permit (TWP) and Training Employment Pass (TEP).