\n<\/p>\n
The proportion of self-employed workers, which includes platform workers, stayed low at 11.8 per cent in 2025. This figure has fallen in recent years as a post-pandemic hiring surge drew more workers into regular employee jobs, said MOM.<\/p>\n
The number of residents who do self-employed work as their main job increased from 169,000 in 2024 to 179,200 this year.<\/p>\n
The vast majority of them choose self-employment because they prefer it, with this share of workers rising to 95.5 per cent this year \u2013 the highest level since 2016.<\/p>\n
Flexibility in working hours and location, freedom in choice of work and greater control over their careers are the most popular reasons for choosing self-employment.<\/p>\n
In contrast, the number of workers who do self-employed work on the side of their main jobs fell from 32,100 in 2024 to 29,000 this year.<\/p>\n
The number of platform workers rose to 71,600 this year, up from 67,200 in 2024. They make up 2.9 per cent of employed residents \u2013 <\/span>comparable to the proportions in 2023 and the pre-pandemic period, said MOM.<\/p>\n The increase was driven by private-hire car drivers, who make up just over half of platform workers, reflecting stronger demand for their services. Numbers of taxi drivers and delivery workers remained stable.<\/p>\n The share of self-employed workers who faced challenges in their work dropped from 66 per cent in 2016 to 18.2 per cent this year, although there were increases during the pandemic years.<\/p>\n This reflects continuing efforts by the government and tripartite partners to address key concerns about healthcare, retirement, payment-related disputes and loss of income due to work injury, including through the Platform Workers Act, said MOM.<\/p>\n Uncertainty of finding enough work remained the top challenge faced by 9 per cent of self-employed workers, followed by lack of sufficient work and healthcare- and retirement-related concerns.<\/p>\n MOM’s Comprehensive Labour Force Survey collected data from 33,000 households, with an overall response rate of 86.8 per cent.<\/span><\/p>\n