Job Market is at its best lah!
Every year is the best one.
From Ministry of Manpower:
Employment Rate in Singapore: Highest Local Employment Rate in 15
Years
5 October 2006
Reflecting the robust job creation as a result of two years of
strong economic performance, the proportion of resident population
in employment has risen to a record high, with gains being most
pronounced among the older population. This is the key finding of
the occasional paper on “Employment Rate in Singapore” from the
Ministry of Manpower's Research and Statistics Department.
2 In June 2006, 76% of the resident population aged 25 to 64 were
in employment, up from 73% in 2005 and 72% in 2004. This is the
highest in 15 years since we started keeping records in 1991. While
the buoyant economy has lifted employment prospects across all age
groups, the improvement is most pronounced for the older population
aged 55 to 64, where the resident employment rate rose by 5% points
or more from 2004 to a record high. This suggests that efforts to
improve the employability of older persons, amid a tight labour
market when employers would be more willing to turn to older
workers, have helped more of them secure employment.
3 The gains in employment rate are observed for both males and
females, with females registering a significant increase from 2004
of 4.1% points compared to 2.6% points for males aged 25 to 64. The
strong employment performance of women partly reflects the
improvement in their educational profile as higher educated women
are more likely to participate in the labour market. Women have
also benefited considerably from the increase in services jobs over
the years.
4 Nevertheless, the proportion of men (89%) at work is still higher
than women 63%). Internationally, Singapore males have among the
highest employment rate. For instance, the proportion of men aged
25 to 64 in employment in Singapore at 86% in 2005 is significantly
higher than 76% in Germany and 78% in France , both of which have a
more rigid labour market characterised by strict employment
protection measures and an extensive social safety net. However,
the employment rate of our older population still lags behind many
of the developed countries including the United States, the United
Kingdom, Sweden and Japan. Despite the gains in employment of
Singapore women, the proportion of women in employment here is
still lower than many of the developed countries, except for the
younger cohort aged 25 to 39. In many of the developed countries,
flexible work arrangements such as part-time work which can better
accommodate women and older persons are generally more widely
available. The relatively lower employment rate of mature women and
older persons in Singapore suggests there is scope to enhance their
employment. If successful, this will in the long run help more of
them contribute to the workforce and also help meet the challenges
arising from a rapidly aging population.
