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Singapore's unemployment remains low in 2015, but laid off workers hit record high since 2009

Xinhua, March 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Singapore's unemployment remained low in 2015 despite the slowdown in local employment growth, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Tuesday.

However, the number of laid-off workers has hit a record high since the global financial crisis, MOM's latest statement on labour market developments showed.

Unemployment rate for citizens remained unchanged at 2.9 percent, although job openings continued to outnumber job seekers, this ratio moderated to an average of 1.23 in 2015 from 1.39 in 2014, MOM said.

Total employment growth moderated significantly in 2015 compared to that in 2013 and 2014, in light of sluggish economic conditions and tightened foreign manpower policy.

Excluding Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs), total employment grew by 0.7 percent in 2015, considerably lower than the 3.7 percent growth in 2014 and the 4.2 percent growth in 2013.

Even as local employment growth is expected to slow down in the medium term, the moderation was intensified in 2015 due to cyclical weakness in certain sectors and the significant net decline of casual workers from the labour force, MOM said.

The slowdown was uneven across sectors, with declines mainly in externally -oriented sectors such as manufacturing and wholesale trade, it added.

Foreign employment growth has been moderated since 2011, although this was uneven across sectors. The increase in foreign employment was driven primarily by the services sector, which saw an accelerated pace of foreign workforce growth, MOM stated.

"Notably, there was a significant increase in the number of Work Permit Holders (WPHs), especially in Food & Beverage Services. In contrast, the number of foreign workers in the Marine, Process and Manufacturing sectors declined, amid low oil prices and weak external demand," the ministry said. Endit