Disclaimer: Unless otherwise stated, any opinions expressed below are solely the author’s. All data taken from the Labor Force in Singapore 2025 report, released by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower last month.
We are often told that the age of stable jobs where people would spend many years is behind us and that the future will require flexibility and adaptability—including frequent job changes. To be honest, I have been feeling this for 20 years myself.
However, statistics released by the Ministry of Labor show that this is not the case in Singapore. The city is often presented as one of the most modern, dynamic and developed economies, so you could be forgiven for thinking that local workers are leading job-hopping trends.
As it turns out, the opposite is true.
Over the past decade, the share of local workers who have stayed with the same company for 10 years or more has increased from just over a quarter to a third.
At the same time, the share of those who have just entered the job market or changed their job in the last 12 months has dropped from around 20% to just 12%, with the biggest drop recorded in the post-pandemic years.
Looking at all workers, back in 2015, more than half of Singapore’s workers had stayed in the same place for less than five years. Today, the rates have changed, with most reporting 5 years or more and their employers.
Stability or stability?
An important question is whether these conditions are a sign of unusual stability, where local workers enjoy secure jobs for many years, or if they do not have a better choice and choose to stay where they are.
Although they are not mutually exclusive—after all, a lot depends on the company you work for—the data suggests that the job market in Singapore is good for its workers. And getting better.
Since 2015, the average income from work has increased from S$3,949 to S$5,775 in 2025. That’s 46.2% on average and 23.2% adjusted for inflation. This means that local wages can buy 1/4 more compared to ten years ago.
Meanwhile, the average number of weekly working hours for full-time workers fell from 47 to 43.8. That’s an increase of more than 166 hours per year, which equates to 20-hour work days.
Singaporeans are working less and earning more than ever before, despite the fact that a growing number are choosing to stay with the same employer—or, perhaps, because of it.
Let’s not forget that, like much of the world, Singapore continues to experience a persistent talent shortage, with 83% of local businesses reporting a shortage of skilled workers.
Retaining good employees is a much better option than hiring new ones. Hiring is expensive and unpredictable because it takes time to train a new hire, and there is no guarantee that they will be good team members.
Similarly, although fashion designers may hope to receive a 10 to 20% raise each time they change workplaces, the resulting disruption and uncertainty in working conditions (expectations, flexibility, co-workers) add to their personal risks.
The same understanding, that a company needs people it already has and can rely on, and that those people are willing to stay if they are appreciated, could explain why Singapore seems to be defying predictions about a changing job market for the future.
As it turns out, sustainability is critical even for today’s companies—and today’s workforce.
- Read other articles we have written on Singapore current affairs here.
Featured Image Credit: Stas_K/depositphotos
