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SINGAPORE (The Straits Times / ANN): Income for Singaporeans and permanent residents took a hit not felt since 2004 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to advance estimates released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Thursday (December 3).
The nominal median income for residents, that is Singaporeans and PRs, fell 0.6 percent to Singaporean $ 4,534 during the year to June, compared to Singaporean $ 4,563 last year.
After taking inflation into account, average real income fell 0.3%, reversing the 2.2% growth of the previous year.
Income data is for people with full-time employment and includes employer contributions to the Central Provident Fund.
Real incomes in the 20th percentile fell 4.5 percent excluding government payments, which the ministry says is because the industries hardest hit by the pandemic have a high concentration of people with lower incomes.
The incomes of low-income self-employed workers, such as taxi drivers or private car drivers and street vendors, were also affected by falling tourist arrivals, work-from-home arrangements, and the temporary suspension of food and beverage services. drinks. outlets during the circuit breaker’s two-month period from April to June, according to the report.
MOM also noted that when you factor in government payments to low-income people, such as the Workfare Income Supplement and the Workfare One-Time Special Payment this year, the income level at the 20th percentile this year is similar to last year’s level.
During the five years from 2015 to 2020, income growth for full-time workers in the 20th percentile (2.9% per year) remained slightly higher than the median (2.7% per year).
In the latest monthly update on unemployment provided by MOM on Thursday, the general rate and the rate for citizens were unchanged in October, at 3.6 percent and 4.9 percent respectively.
The rate for residents increased to 4.8 percent, up from 4.7 percent in September. This indicates that the rate of increase in unemployment rates has slowed.
Human Resources Minister Josephine Teo told a press conference on Thursday that Singapore now needs to get back on a job growth path in the current phase of recovery.
His ministry will work with other agencies to ensure that economic activities recover and have the opportunity to expand, because only then can job opportunities have the scope to grow, he said.
“We are also fully aware of the fact that when the jobs come back, they will likely not be the same ones that were lost during the recession. They are likely to require new skills, they are likely to be in areas that displaced workers may not be as familiar with, ”he added.
Therefore, the ministry will also focus on bridging skills gaps so that employers feel confident in accepting new employees and apprentices.
“We are looking very closely at how (support schemes) should perhaps be refined and continually improved, to better support the need to bridge the gaps between what employers are looking for and what job seekers have to offer,” he said Teo.
Meanwhile, the overall employment rate for residents 15 and older fell to 64.5 percent in June, the lowest since 2014 and below 65.2 percent the previous year.
“This was a smaller decline than in past recessions, helped by slower population and workforce growth,” MOM noted in its report.
MOM’s annual workforce report is based on mid-year data. A separate report released in October with preliminary data on the labor market situation in the third quarter showed that resident employment rebounded after the circuit breaker.
Teo also pointed out that the Covid-19 crisis had a greater impact on the employment of foreigners than on residents.
Data on the foreign workforce is not captured in Thursday’s report, so employment rates in the report may not have fallen as much as might be expected given the great recession, he added.
Young people ages 15 to 24 felt the worst impact on their employment rate of all age groups in June, with a rate that fell to 30.9 percent in June, down from 33.9 percent the previous year.
In the latest monthly update on unemployment, the general rate and the rate for citizens were unchanged in October, at 3.6 percent and 4.9 percent respectively. The rate for residents rose to 4.8%, up from 4.7% in September.
Meanwhile, the overall employment rate for residents 15 and older fell to 64.5 percent in June, the lowest since 2014 and down from 65.2 percent the previous year.
“This was a smaller decline than in past recessions, helped by slower population and workforce growth,” the MOM noted in its report.
Young people ages 15 to 24 felt the worst impact on their employment rate of all age groups in June, with a rate falling to 30.9 percent in June, from 33.9 percent the previous year.
This was because the sectors that they commonly work in, such as food and beverage services, administrative and support services, and retail, saw a significant employment contract amid the pandemic.
The employment rate for this group, which makes up about 6 percent of the resident workforce, has also been on a downward trend in recent years as more young people continue their studies, the MOM said.
In contrast, 28.5 percent of residents 65 and older were employed in June of this year, up from 27.6 percent.
The ministry said this reflects sustained efforts to boost their employability and increased demand for essential services such as cleaning and security due to the coronavirus outbreak.
For residents aged 25 to 64, who make up the majority of the workforce, the employment rate dropped slightly to 80.3%, from 80.8% last June. It stayed close to the 80.5 percent average over the past five years.
The employment rate of men fell more sharply than that of women. The rate for men fell from 88.8% to 87.9%, the lowest level since 2004, while that of women fell only slightly from 73.3% to 73.2%.
The participation rate of the resident labor force remained stable, helped by a growing number of mature workers.
But as the economy reeled from the impact of Covid-19, a record number of residents were not looking for work because they felt their job search would be fruitless. This group of discouraged workers rose to 16,400, or 0.7 percent of the resident workforce, in June.
This was more than twice the size of the group in 2019 and higher than the previous peak of 11,100 in the 2009 recession.
Older and less educated residents continued to be the largest groups among discouraged workers.
Nonprofessionals, managers, executives and technicians (non-PMETs) also fared worse than PMETs on several other indicators covered in Thursday’s report.
This is mainly because the industries most affected by Covid-19 have a higher concentration of non-PMETs and their jobs are less suitable for remote work.
The resident unemployment rate for non-PMETs rose sharply to 6.4 percent in June, up from 4.7 percent the previous year. For PMETs, the rate rose to 3.5 percent, compared to 2.9 percent.
There was also a more pronounced increase in the time-related underemployment rate among non-PMETs. The overall rate increased from 3.1% to 4.1% during the year through June, but was below that of the 2009 global financial crisis (4.3%).
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