Fewer people in S’pore changed jobs in 2025; 60% of those who did enjoyed pay bumps

SINGAPORE - More employed people in Singapore held on to their jobs in 2025, but those who made a switch enjoyed pay bumps, figures released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Nov 28 showed.

Job mobility continued to ease across most sectors, with the share of employed residents who changed jobs dropping from 7.6 per cent in 2024 to 6.2 per cent in 2025.

Notably, there were fewer employed younger people – ages 25 to 29 – who changed jobs. This age group tends to switch jobs more frequently than their older counterparts as they explore career options.

MOM noted that while younger employees are more opportunistic and mobile, they tend to be more sensitive to cyclical hiring. “The more cautious stance from employers could contribute to the lower mobility among younger workers in 2025,” it said.

MOM’s figures bear out the observations of “job hugging” in Singapore, where employees choose to hold on to their current jobs instead of pursuing new opportunities or career advancement. The trend is global and borne out of economic uncertainty.

For Singapore residents who switched jobs though, about 60 per cent saw real income gains, director of MOM’s manpower research and statistics department Ang Boon Heng noted at a media briefing on Nov 26.

He added that the pay bumps were seen mainly among those moving into PME (professionals, managers and executives) roles, and higher-paying sectors like finance.

Over the last decade, more residents also moved into these more productive roles, with their proportion in these sectors growing, MOM said.

In 2025, there were fewer job hoppers in outward-oriented sectors such as information and communications, financial and insurance services, and professional services – which typically see high mobility as they offer attractive compensation packages.

This may be due to “a few high-profile workforce restructurings” and more cautious hiring sentiments, said the ministry.

Mr Ang highlighted that resignation rates and recruitment rates have been at a 10-year low, with the labour market becoming less dynamic. Singapore’s

average annual resignation rate hit a historic low of 1.3 per cent in 2024,

after the 2008 financial crisis and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Job switching peaked in 2022 at 10.1 per cent, before slowing over the past three years amid a tighter labour market following the post-Covid reopening of businesses, said MOM.

While this could indicate greater caution among employees amid external uncertainties, the quality of job moves “remained healthy”, with six in 10 experiencing real income gains with a job match, MOM said.

“This suggests continued opportunities for outward mobility as these job switchers are generally moving into higher-skilled positions in more productive sectors,” the ministry said.

While unemployment rates for PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) held steady at 2.8 per cent, that for non-PMETs declined from 3.4 per cent to 2.8 per cent.

MOM said this is due to “churn” in the labour market, which refers to the movement of workers in and out of jobs. As there were fewer resignations, there are also fewer people who are looking for jobs.