More companies plan to hire in Q4, but wage growth expected to slow: MOM

SINGAPORE: More companies in Singapore are looking to expand their workforce in the final quarter of the year, even as fewer plan to raise wages, according to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in its third-quarter Labour Market Report.

Based on a survey conducted between July and September, about 44.1% of the companies polled said they intend to increase their workforce in the fourth quarter.

While this represents a slight uptick from 43.7% in the previous quarter, MOM cautioned that the proportion of firms planning to raise wages continued to decline across most industries, falling further to 19.3% from 22.4% in the preceding quarter.

The ministry added that some export-oriented industries could see layoffs amid global economic uncertainty.

MOM indicated that these trends suggest that while overall employment growth may remain, wage growth could slow under cost pressures.

The ministry also highlighted that with resident labour force participation already at a high level, growth in resident employment is expected to lag behind that of non-resident workers in the coming months.

The full Labour Market Report for the third quarter will be released in December.