China, US and Malaysia lead as most popular overseas postings for Singapore workers

Of the employed residents who have had overseas work experience, 18.3% took posting in mainland China during their most recent stint abroad, according to the Labour Force in Singapore Advance Release by the Ministry of Manpower.

Another 13.6% worked in the U.S. while Malaysia was the next popular destination, with 10.1%.

The data came from the 2025 Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, which was conducted by the ministry from March to July and polled 33,000 households with an overall response rate of 86.8%. Residents in the labor force include citizens and permanent residents aged 15 and above who are employed or job-searching, Channel News Asia reported.

Data on residents’ overseas work experience was collected for the first time this year to better understand its prevalence within the workforce.

Workers whose latest overseas stint was in China were most commonly employed in the manufacturing sector, according to The Straits Times.

Those who worked in the U.S. were most often in growth industries like professional services, information and communications, and financial and insurance services.

Meanwhile, those who worked in Malaysia were mainly in the manufacturing and construction sectors.

Some 45.2% of residents held professional roles in their most recent period working abroad, followed by 30.7% who were managers.

The top professional jobs were those in business and administration (16%) and science and engineering (13.7%).

For manager positions, administrative and commercial (11.4%) and production and specialised services (9.4%) were the most common.

Office workers walk to work during morning peak hour commute in the central business district in Singapore, March 24, 2016. Photo by Reuters

Overseas work experience was most prevalent among mid-career employees, with 4.6% of those in their 40s and 4.5% of those in their 50s having held a posting abroad, according to the report.

But many of these workers had completed their overseas stints earlier in their careers. Over half of them first worked abroad at age 25-34, The Business Times reported.

International experience was only seen in 2.6% of employees in their 60s, 2.5% of those in their 30s and 0.5% of workers aged 25-29.

The report also found that among employed residents, those currently in senior roles are more likely to have had overseas experience.

Among managerial staff, such as managing directors, chief executives and general managers, 7.7% had experience working abroad.

Higher-income residents were also more exposed to overseas postings. Around 16.8% of full-time residents currently making at least S$30,000 (US$23,100) a month had previously worked overseas.

This share was at 10.6% for those earning S$15,000-19,999 monthly and around 3% for employees in the S$5,000-9,999 range.

"These patterns underscore that international experience remains a critical pathway to developing leadership and cross-cultural capabilities in a global business hub like Singapore," the ministry said.

It also noted: "For workers aspiring to take on higher-paying roles in their careers, actively planning and seeking overseas work opportunities is crucial in building up their capabilities to be considered for such roles in the future."