SINGAPORE - Singapore's labour market continued to show signs of recovery, as resident employment grew more quickly and retrenchments fell in the third quarter of this year. Job vacancies also continued to rise for the fifth straight quarter. Despite the improvements, unemployment rates remained above pre-pandemic levels and more residents are taking a longer time to find new jobs, according to the labour market report released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (Dec 15). In the three months to September, resident employment grew by 19,100, led by outward-oriented sectors such as information and communications, professional services and financial services. Some domestically oriented sectors like administrative and support services and health and social services also boosted growth. Despite the increase, total employment, excluding migrant domestic workers, fell by 2,400, due to ongoing border restrictions that led to non-resident employment falling across most industries, MOM said. Still, this was a much smaller decline than the fall of 16,300 in the second quarter. Permanent Secretary Aubeck Kam said: "Over the course of this year, measures have been taken to increase the inflow of foreign workers... This has benefited in particular the construction, marine and process sectors. "We expect that businesses will be able to bring in more foreign workers in the coming months to replace those who have left." As a whole, the overall unemployment rate stood at 2.6 per cent in September, while the unemployment rate for residents stood at 3.5 per cent. An MOM spokesman said although this remains above pre-Covid-19 levels, "there is increased movement of persons between jobs as the economy recovers and there's more confidence". She added that more people who were previously outside the labour force are coming back to look for work. But there are also continued job search difficulties among displaced workers, such as "those who were laid off from sectors that were adversely impacted by the pandemic like retail trade and F&B (food and beverage)". Fewer people were also laid off, with the number of retrenchments falling to 1,900 in the third quarter, from 2,340 in the quarter before. More on this topic Related Story Job vacancies in Singapore hit record high of 98,700 in September: MOM Related Story Covid-19 drove unprecedented drop of 196,400 in S'pore employment: MTI report The number of staff placed on short work weeks or temporary layoffs also declined to 4,060, from 5,580 in the second quarter. Although this still remained above pre-pandemic levels, sectors such as air transport and supporting services have started to ramp up capacity in anticipation of some resumption in air travel, MOM said. Meanwhile, the number of job vacancies, seasonally adjusted, rose to 98,700 in September, up from 92,100 in June. In September, there were 209 job openings for every 100 unemployed people, up from 163 in June. MOM said the sectors that saw substantial decreases in Work Permit holders include manufacturing, construction, F&B services, and administrative and support services. "The number of job vacancies, and the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons, is expected to remain high until border restrictions are lifted," MOM said. More on this topic Related Story Retrenchments fall in Q3, resident employment grows faster: MOM Related Story Tech talent most in demand as S'pore hiring picks up in 2022: Surveys
SINGAPORE - Singapore's labour market improved in the third quarter of this year, compared with the second quarter, despite the continuing heightened Covid-19 restrictions, the Manpower Ministry (MOM) said in advanced estimates released on Friday (Oct 29). The number of retrenchments fell and total employment decline also slowed - thanks to resident employment, which covers Singapore citizens and permanent residents, growing faster. Sectors such as travel-related ones are likely to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, with vaccinated travel lanes (VTLs) opening up to more countries. Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said: "This shows that our labour market stayed resilient despite the return to Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) restrictions in July. "There continues to be many employment opportunities for our residents, especially in outward-oriented sectors such as professional services and financial services," he told reporters on Friday during a visit to Deloitte Consulting South-east Asia. Total employment, excluding migrant domestic workers, fell by 3,400 in the third quarter, which was considerably gentler than the plunge of 16,300 in the second quarter. The decline was due to non-resident employment, while resident employment grew more quickly instead. But total employment growth remained K-shaped in the third quarter, with recovery remaining uneven across sectors, MOM noted. Outward-oriented sectors such as professional services, information and communications, as well as financial services continued to see resident employment expansion. On the other hand, food and beverage (F&B) services, retail trade and accommodation trimmed their resident workforce. "This reflected ongoing Covid-19 border restrictions and safe management measures imposed in the third quarter," MOM said. With these, non-resident employment continued to contract across most sectors in the third quarter. "With Singapore's recent extension of its stabilisation phase till end-November, we expect the mixed employment trends observed in the third quarter to continue into the next quarter," MOM said. It added that sectors such as F&B services and retail trade will continue to be affected, as the extended Covid-19 measures include group size curbs on dine in and other social activities. The expansion of the VTL and travel-related activities however "may give an uplift to industries such as accommodation and air transport services", MOM said. Retrenchments, a key indicator for the labour market, are expected to remain low, MOM added. More on this topic Related Story Retrenchments in S'pore rose slightly in Q2, with more on short work weeks, temporary layoffs Related Story What happens if you are retrenched? There were 2,000 layoffs in the third quarter, which is less than a quarter of the figure recorded during the peak of the pandemic last year. The majority came from the services sector, while 400 came from manufacturing and 100 from construction. This was a decline from the 2,340 retrenchments seen in the previous quarter. "Consequently, we expect the incidence of retrenchment in the third quarter - at a projected 1.1 retrenched per 1,000 employees - to fall from the 1.3 registered in the second quarter," MOM said. Unemployment rates also fell, although they remain elevated compared with pre-pandemic levels. Last month, resident unemployment rates stood at 3.5 per cent, while overall unemployment rates were at 2.6 per cent. This marks the second month of consecutive decline, after the unemployment rates ticked up in July. "It’s encouraging that we continue to see our economy and labour market improving from the impact of the pandemic in the third quarter of 2021," said Dr Tan. "However, we should also expect that industries and job roles will transform at an accelerated pace and be prepared for these changes." He commended Deloitte Consulting in helping with workforce transformation, by partnering Workforce Singapore to run a career conversion programme for consultants. "To meet new manpower needs as businesses transform, it is important that companies expand their hiring strategies, to look beyond plug-and-play candidates," he said. More than 30 mid-career workers have switched to consulting under this programme. Separately, the firm has hired over 100 professionals since the start of the pandemic last year. Mr Eugene Ho, Deloitte Consulting South-east Asia regional managing director, said: " We continue to hire actively despite the Covid-19 pandemic as the demand for consultancy services in the marketplace did not waver, with many businesses looking for transformation solutions to survive and thrive." He added that hiring a diverse mix of fresh graduates, consultants and mid-career switchers provides a workplace culture where different ideas can flourish. More on this topic Related Story Job vacancies in Singapore hit record high of 92,100 in June: MOM Related Story S'pore economy to grow at faster than usual pace, with output already back to pre-Covid-19 level: MAS