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Singapore's unemployment rate remains unchanged in Q3 quarter-on-quarter: MOM

Xinhua, October 27, 2016 Adjust font size:

Unemployment rate among Singapore citizens and residents remained stable despite fall in total employment in the third quarter of 2016, according to the report by Manpower Research and Statistics Department, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Thursday.

The newly released "Labor Market Advance Release Third Quarter 2016" said that the seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate remained at 2.1 percent in September quarter-on-quarter, based on preliminary estimates.

Over the same period, unemployment rate for Singaporeans and Permanent Residents went down from 3 percent to 2.9 percent, while the rate for Singapore citizens changed slightly from 3.1 percent to 3 percent.

Total employment reached 3.67 million in September, 0.8 percent higher than the same period last year. This is lower than the 1.3 percent growth in June 2016, and the average annual growth of about 2 percent in 2015.

According to the report, total employment fell by 3,300 in the third quarter driven by slowdown across industries. Both manufacturing and construction sectors registered negative growth in employment.

Employment in manufacturing sector extended its decline for the eighth consecutive quarter, and construction employment fell amid sluggishness in private sector construction activities. While services sector recorded 5,700 growth in employment, a slowdown from previous quarter's growth of 7,600.

Preliminary estimates showed the number of workers made redundant decreased from 4,800 in the previous quarter to 4,100 in the third quarter of 2016. The figure also grew compared with 3,460 in the same period a year ago. Layoffs fell over the quarter in manufacturing and services, while it increased in construction sector.

On Tuesday, Monetary Authority of Singapore said the country's economy is not expected to improve significantly next year. Endit