While jobseekers continued to outnumber the vacancies
available, the situation is on the mend after seven straight
quarters of declines, based on the latest labour market report from
the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
However, the total number of people in employment
shrank the most in almost eight years: Total employment fell by
6,800 in the first quarter, reversing the modest growth of 2,300 in
the fourth quarter of last year. This was the largest decline since
the second quarter of 2009.
Nevertheless, MOM said the fall reflected a reduction
in the foreign workforce, mainly due to a decrease in work permit
holders in the manufacturing and construction sectors, as a result
of low oil prices and continued weakness in private sector
construction activity respectively. “At the same time, employment
continued to grow in sectors such as Community, Social &
Personal Services and Financial & Insurance Services,” the
ministry added.
The report, which was released on Tuesday (Jun 13),
showed that, seasonally adjusted, there were 81 vacancies for every
100 jobseekers at the end of the first quarter. This is an
improvement over the 77 openings for every 100 jobseekers at the
end of the fourth quarter of last year. This uptick comes as the
total number of vacancies for the economy rose at the end of the
first quarter, buoyed by an increase in seasonally adjusted
vacancies among small private-sector establishments hiring fewer
than 25 employees. This comes despite a dip in vacancies among
private-sector firms with at least 25 employees and the public
sector.
Seasonally adjusted, the unemployment rate stayed
unchanged between the end of the fourth quarter of last year and
the first quarter in all categories: Overall (2.2 per cent),
citizens and permanent residents (3.2 per cent) and citizens (3.5
per cent).
The resident long-term unemployment rate — which
refers to citizens and PRs jobless for at least 25 weeks —
crept up to 0.8 per cent, compared with 0.7 per cent a year
ago.
Four-thousand workers were made redundant in the first
three months of the year, lower than the 5,440 workers laid off in
the previous quarter but comparable to that a year ago (4,710). For
the whole of last year, 19,170 workers were laid off, 23 per cent
higher than the 2015 figure of 15,580.
The labour market outlook remains uneven across
sectors, MOM said. Hiring expectations are still cautious in the
construction and marine industries for example, while sectors such
as finance and insurance, information and communications,
healthcare and certain segments of manufacturing should continue to
support job growth.
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