Singapore’s labor market has continued to grow, but locals are not driving most of the growth
In Mar, Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released its quarterly Labor Market Report, which highlights employment trends in the city-state, including employment growth and workforce composition.
From the fourth quarter of 2021, the labor market continued to grow, and for the full year of 2025, the number of jobs increased by 55,500, from 44,500 in 2024.
However, of these 55,500 jobs, 79% (or 43,900) went to non-citizens, while only 11,600 were taken by citizens (citizens and permanent residents).
This works out to about a 4-to-one ratio—meaning that for every new job a citizen got last year, about four went to a foreign worker.
Where the jobs went
A closer look at the data reveals that the growth of resident jobs is not only small in scale, but also very concentrated.
By 2025, most of the gains among citizens were concentrated in high-skilled sectors such as financial services and health and social services.
On the other hand, non-citizen employment was largely driven by labor-intensive sectors. Construction has emerged as a key industry, continuing its reliance on foreign workers to support infrastructure and construction projects.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, resident and non-resident employment increased in administrative and support services and retail trade, driven largely by seasonal employment for events and the year-end holiday period.
Not a one-time trend
2025 was not unusual. This year’s figures are the latest in a pattern that has been playing out over the past few years.
| A year | Employment Growth Complete | A citizen | Non-resident |
| 2023 | +88,400 | +4,900 | +83,500 |
| 2024 | +44,500 | +8,800 | +35,700 |
| 2025 | +55,500 | +11,600 | +43,900 |
Over the past three years, non-resident employment growth has significantly outpaced resident growth. In 2023, the strongest year for job growth, residents accounted for less than 6% of all new jobs.
Even in 2025, a year that saw a significant increase in resident jobs, non-residents still accounted for nearly four out of five of all new jobs created.
The reasons for this change are part of the structure, and the Department of Labor was very specific as to why.
In its Labor Market Report for Q4 2025, MAMA noted that Singapore’s labor force participation rate is already high, leaving limited room for further expansion of the local workforce.
For those aged 25 to 64, the figure stands at 85.9%, one of the highest figures in the world. Most people who can work and want to work are already working—there aren’t many residents left aside to be brought in, which naturally limits how much resident employment can be expanded.
At the same time, businesses continue to face workforce needs, whether for growth, change, or sector-specific needs, that cannot be fully met by a group of residents alone. Non-resident workers help fill these gaps, especially in industries that struggle to attract or retain local workers.
Looking ahead, the Department of Labor expects these trends to continue.
In 2026, resident employment is expected to grow at the same or slower pace than in 2025.
Employment of non-citizens, on the other hand, is expected to continue to increase in line with economic demand, especially in sectors such as construction and other labor-intensive sectors, where employment has remained strong in recent years.
- Read other articles we’ve written about career trends here.
Featured Image Credit: Shadow of Light/ Shutterstock
