Singapore retrenchments climb in Q1, with sharpest rise in incidence among degree holders, older workers: MOM

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This audio is generated by an AI tool. Davina Tham Davina Tham 15 Jun 2026 12:30PM (Updated: 15 Jun 2026 12:32PM) Bookmark Bookmark Share WhatsApp Telegram Facebook Twitter Email LinkedIn Set CNA as your preferred source on Google Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results. Read a summary of this article on FAST.

Get bite-sized news via a newcards interface. Give it a try. Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST FAST SINGAPORE: An ongoing restructuring in professional and knowledge-intensive sectors drove a notable shift in layoffs among degree holders in the first quarter of 2026, with the incidence of retrenchment rising sharply for this group, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) said on Monday (Jun 15).

The incidence of retrenchment, which refers to the rate of being laid off within a specific demographic, also rose among older workers aged 50 to 59 – rising from 2.8 to 3.1 per 1,000 resident employees.

Overall, the number of retrenchments went up in this time period. MOM's latest quarterly labour market data showed retrenchments rising to 3,830 in Q1 2026, up from 3,690 in Q4 2025.This was largely driven by restructuring or reorganisation rather than cost-cutting, said MOM.

Retrenchments were mainly in external-oriented sectors like manufacturing, financial services and professional services. CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less The overall incidence of retrenchment, at 1.6 per 1,000 employees, remains "within non-recessionary norms", the ministry added.

Among degree holders, retrenchment incidence rose sharply from 2.6 to 3.1 per 1,000 resident employees.

This was the highest incidence among all educational qualification groups, said MOM.This suggests that restructuring activity in Q1 2026 remained concentrated among higher-educated workers, reflecting "ongoing organisational restructuring in professional and knowledge-intensive sectors", said the ministry.In contrast, retrenchment incidence fell to 0.

7 per 1,000 resident employees for those with secondary school qualifications or lower, and to 1.1 per 1,000 resident employees for those with diploma and professional qualifications.Professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) continued to have the highest retrenchment incidence among a