Singapore to review how AI and automation are captured in retrenchment data

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is reviewing how its retrenchment statistics capture the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, as the government acknowledged that such factors are currently difficult to isolate from broader business restructuring.

In a written parliamentary answer on August 4, Acting Minister for Manpower Jasmin Lau said AI and automation are typically introduced as part of wider business transformation or restructuring exercises, making it difficult to identify them as the primary cause of retrenchments.

“It is currently difficult to isolate the impact of AI or automation as a primary driver of retrenchments as automation is typically implemented as part of broader business transformation or restructuring exercises,” Lau said.

The response came after MP Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari asked whether MOM would enhance its retrenchment statistics to identify AI- or automation-related job losses, including a more detailed breakdown by occupational groups such as professionals, managers and executives.

Lau said the ministry would continue to study how it could better capture the impact of AI and automation in its retrenchment data.

The issue comes as Singapore’s workforce undergoes changes linked to technological adoption. MOM said business reorganisation or restructuring was the predominant reason for retrenchments in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for 74% of all retrenchments. Such restructuring can include technological change and AI adoption, among other factors.

Retrenchment incidence was highest among professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), at 2.6 retrenched workers per 1,000 resident employees in the first quarter. This compared with 0.7 per 1,000 among clerical, sales and service workers and 0.3 per 1,000 among production and transport operators, cleaners and labourers.

However, MOM noted that the retrenchment rate among PMETs remained within the non-recessionary range recorded between 2015 and 2019.

The ministry also said it does not currently track retrenchment reasons according to specific educational groups, such as degree holders.

This was in response to a separate parliamentary question from MP Cassandra Lee on the rise in retrenchment incidence among degree holders from 2.6 to 3.1 per 1,000 employees in the first quarter of 2026.

MOM said it would continue to review its data collection methods to better capture the drivers of retrenchment across different educational and occupational groups.

Meanwhile, AI adoption is increasing across Singapore businesses, although adoption rates vary considerably by company size. MOM data showed that 27.2% of firms with fewer than 200 employees had adopted AI in 2026, compared with 54.8% of mid-sized firms with 200 to 500 employees and 76.4% of companies with more than 500 employees.

The ministry said AI-adopting companies reported workforce changes including job redesign, the creation of AI-related roles and the redeployment of employees, rather than outright reductions in employment.

Larger companies were more likely to report these workforce outcomes than smaller businesses, reflecting their greater capacity to invest in and deploy AI.

The government said it would continue monitoring AI adoption and its impact on employment to support businesses and workers in using the technology in ways that create jobs and new opportunities for Singaporeans.