Childcare job postings in Singapore see steepest decline in February as fertility rate hits record low

SINGAPORE: Job postings in Singapore fell 4.5% in February to their lowest level since March 2021, with childcare roles seeing the steepest decline at 29% among occupation groups, according to Indeed’s latest Singapore hiring lab report, which tracked percentage changes in job postings over the three months to Feb 28, 2026.

This comes as Singapore’s total fertility rate fell to a record low of 0.87 in 2025.

In an early March report by The Independent Singapore, a Singaporean mom shared four reasons why fewer Singaporeans may want more kids or choose not to have any at all.

She noted that it could be due to Singapore’s shrinking affordable home sizes, demanding work culture, rising education-related costs, and limited support for mothers who want to stay home to care for their children full-time, although the government recently announced that paid shared parental leave will be extended from six to 10 weeks starting this month, separate from the existing maternity and paternity leave.

In January, the global HR technology company expected job postings in the city-state to remain on a downward trend in the near term.

Aside from childcare roles, job postings also declined in dental (-23%) and civil physicians and surgeons (-18%), with education and healthcare among occupations where posting volumes have eased in recent months.

However, roles with high exposure to AI transformation, such as IT infrastructure and software development (+15%), recorded some of the strongest gains in job postings. Other occupations, including operations and support (+19%) and arts and entertainment (+16%), also saw notable increases.

Photo: Indeed

According to Indeed’s report, job postings in 92% of occupations are above their pre-pandemic baseline, and the job market remains “incredibly tight”, with the unemployment rate just 2% at the end of last year.

With the conflict in the Middle East triggering higher inflation and increased cautiousness from households and businesses, job opportunities are expected to “continue to moderate over the course of 2026.

“With the job market still tight and the economy growing strongly last year, Singapore is relatively well placed to absorb the impact of geopolitical uncertainty and a weaker global economy. Nevertheless, the economic outlook has certainly weakened in recent weeks,” the report added. /TISG

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