About 6,300 employers have submitted notifications to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on their cost-cutting measures between March and July, which affected about 224,800 local and foreign employees.

Local employees made up slightly fewer than half of the total.

The numbers are based on the total number of notifications by employers during the period. "As some employers have submitted multiple notifications to update on their cost-saving measures, the employer and employee counts are not unique," MOM said yesterday.

The three most common cost-cutting measures were adjustments to monthly salary components, no-pay leave and shorter work weeks.

About half of the affected workers are from three sectors: 52,600 in accommodation and food services, 42,000 in construction, and 23,800 in the wholesale and retail trade.

The tripartite advisory on managing excess manpower and responsible retrenchments was updated in March to include requirements such as notifying MOM if cost-cutting measures affect workers' salaries.

Employers are also required to show that they have implemented the measures fairly.