Singapore finance employers to cut jobs in Q3 2026

ManpowerGroup linked weaker plans to consolidation and optimisation.

Singapore’s finance and insurance sector is expected to cut headcount in the third quarter of 2026.

The sector recorded a Net Employment Outlook of minus 2% for the July to September period, according to ManpowerGroup’s latest Employment Outlook Survey. 

This means more employers in finance and insurance expect to reduce staffing than increase it.

The result puts finance and insurance at the bottom amongst Singapore’s main industry sectors in the survey. 

By comparison, manufacturing posted the strongest hiring outlook at 25%, followed by construction and real estate at 20%.

Across all sectors in Singapore, the overall Net Employment Outlook stood at 13%. That was based on responses from almost 600 employers. 

The figure also marked a decline from the previous quarter and was 11 percentage points lower than a year earlier.

ManpowerGroup said expected hiring increases in Singapore were mainly driven by company expansion, whilst expected reductions were linked to consolidation and optimisation.

Globally, the finance and insurance sector performed better. It recorded a Net Employment Outlook of 29% for the third quarter, slightly higher than a year earlier by 1 percentage point. 

This placed the global finance and insurance sector amongst the stronger hiring areas, behind information at 32% and construction and real estate at 31%.

The survey covered more than 40,500 employers across 42 countries. Globally, the overall Net Employment Outlook was 26% for the third quarter of 2026.

In a separate report by GlobalData, insurance companies are fast-tracking the use of artificial intelligence (AI) due to intense market competition, but industry insiders warn that the technology is not yet ready for widespread deployment.

GlobalData's job analytics tracking showed 63,293 active AI-related job vacancies in the insurance sector during 2025. This marks the highest annual figure on record and represents a 50.9% increase compared to 2024. 

However, the rapid pace of AI development continues to outpace hiring efforts.

According to a GlobalData poll conducted across the first two quarters of 2026, nearly a quarter of the 113 industry respondents stated that AI itself is simply not ready for widespread use within the sector.