Time Taken for Adult Caregivers to Return to Workforce After Discharging Caregiving Duties

Ms Mariam Jaafar asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry has data on the length of time taken for adult caregivers to return to the workforce after discharging their caregiving responsibilities; (b) if so, what are the mean and median time taken in 2025.

Dr Tan See Leng: The Ministry of Manpower does not have data on the length of time taken for adult caregivers to return to the workforce after discharging their caregiving responsibilities. Caregiving is often part of ongoing family arrangements and may change over time as needs evolve. Some individuals may also return to work while caregiving continues, which makes it difficult to determine when caregiving has fully ended.

Available data show that around one in four residents who were outside the labour force primarily due to caregiving responsibilities returned to work within two years. Among those who did not return, around eight in 10 had no intention to seek employment.

We will continue monitoring labour force participation and return patterns among caregivers and make adjustments where appropriate.