More youth in Singapore tends to postpone entry into labor force

SINGAPORE, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Ministry of Manpower said on Thursday that the employment rate for local residents aged between 15 and 24 declined to 34.1 percent in June 2017.

The ministry said in a press release that the employment rate for residents aged 25 to 64 kept increase to 80.7 percent this June, while the employment rate for residents aged 65 and over increased to 25.8 percent.

These figures indicated a population ageing and the higher propensity of youths to postpone entry into the labor force in Singapore, which will exert downward pressure on the overall employment rate in the years ahead, according to the press release.

The manpower ministry forecast that local workforce growth is expected to continue to slow further.

For professionals, managers, executives and technicians, the unemployment and long-term unemployment rates showed signs of improvement after trending up in recent years, the ministry added. Enditem