Singapore Job Market Update 2026: Where Demand Still Looks Better for Malaysians
Singapore’s labour market is no longer a story of broad hiring everywhere. The more useful question now is where shortages still exist and where applicant competition is already too crowded.
Current signal from MOM
MOM’s Labour Market Report for 3Q 2025 states that PME vacancies remained at 23,000 in September 2025. It also says occupations in technology, nursing and logistics remained in shortage, while administrative, clerical and customer-service roles had an oversupply of jobseekers.
Why this matters for Malaysians
This means Malaysians should stop treating every office title as equal.
A more realistic search priority is:
- logistics and transport-linked roles
- selected technical and engineering roles
- healthcare-linked shortages where qualifications fit
- sector-based practical jobs with legal pass support
A weaker priority is generic admin-style competition with no real pass advantage.
The market signal to watch
MOM’s foreign workforce numbers page also shows that Singapore still has a very large foreign-workforce base, including over 203,300 EP holders, 178,900 S Pass holders, and 1,222,700 Work Permit holders as of December 2025. That does not mean every role is easy. It means the market is still structurally dependent on foreign manpower, but the match quality now matters more.
