Businesses scale back hiring and wage plans as uncertainty clouds outlook

The share of employers expecting to recruit in the next three months fell 10% in March.

Singapore firms became more cautious in their hiring and wage plans in March as economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions weighed on business sentiment, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

MOM's business expectations survey showed that the proportion of firms expecting to hire in the next three months fell to 44.6% in March, down from 54.6% in February.

Wage expectations also weakened with the share of firms planning wage increases over the next three months declining to 25.4% in March from 39.3% a month earlier.

At the same time, retrenchment expectations eased slightly as the proportion of firms intending to retrench workers fell from 4.4% in February to 3.6% in March.

The latest expectations data follows signs of moderation in Singapore's labour market during the first quarter (Q1) of 2026.

According to MOM's Labour Market Report, total employment grew by 9,400 in Q1, slower than the increase of 17,700 recorded in the previous quarter. The ministry said this marked the 18th consecutive quarter of employment growth since Q4 2021.

Job vacancies also declined to 73,300 in March from 77,700 in December 2025, although labour demand continued to exceed the number of unemployed persons, with 1.46 vacancies available for every unemployed individual.

Retrenchments rose slightly to 3,830 in Q1 from 3,690 in the previous quarter, but MOM said the incidence remained low and within non-recessionary norms.

Unemployment rates remained stable in March, with overall unemployment at 2.0%, whilst resident and citizen unemployment rates stood at 2.9% and 3.1%, respectively.

MOM said labour market conditions are expected to remain resilient but noted that firms may become more cautious in hiring and wage increases if global economic uncertainty persists.