Degree Holders Form Two-Thirds Of Retrenched Residents As Netizens Demand Solutions

Degree holders accounted for 66.4 per cent of retrenched residents in 2025, up from 51 per cent in 2021, Acting Manpower Minister Jasmin Lau told Parliament on October 6.

Replying to parliamentary questions on retrenchments and worker support, she said those in their 40s and 50s also formed more than half of retrenched residents.

The degree-holder figure refers to their share among retrenched Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

Overall retrenchments have fluctuated, falling from 14,590 in 2023 to 13,020 in 2024 before rising to 14,490 in 2025.

More recently, they reached 4,620 in the second quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly level since late 2020, driven by business restructuring.

Workers are also taking longer to find another job. The six-month re-employment rate fell from 60.7 per cent to 54.9 per cent between the first and second quarters, while the 12-month rate stayed around 70 per cent.

Tertiary-educated residents and those below 30 were among the groups most affected by the decline.

Despite this, employment continued growing and vacancies outnumbered unemployed people.

Resident unemployment remained low at 2.9 per cent in June, suggesting the pressure is more concentrated among certain groups than across the entire workforce.