[ad_1]
SINGAPORE – The number of employed locals rebounded to almost pre-Covid-19 levels in the July-September period, but the job market is not out of the woods yet, with staff cuts and general unemployment continuing to rise.
About 2.34 million Singaporeans and permanent residents worked in September, recovering strongly from the 2.29 million recorded in June, preliminary data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed on Friday (October 30). ).
This was almost on par with the employment levels of residents before the coronavirus pandemic: about 2.36 million locals were employed in December 2019.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Human Resources Minister Josephine Teo was cautious about the outlook for the job market, though she said the third-quarter figures were “a bit of a relief.”
“I think it would be unwise to assume that (this rebound) will hold,” he said.
“The ship has stabilized, but we have to push ourselves to keep sailing towards the destination … which is to keep local employment where it was previously. That is something we should work very hard for.”
Fall in total employment
Despite the rebound in local employment, total employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, continued to decline in the period from July to September.
Some 26,900 workers were laid off, largely due to the continuing decline in non-resident employment, the ministry said.
Ms Teo noted that the contraction in non-local employment was due to two main reasons: the repatriation of some foreign employees, as well as the lower influx of foreign workers to Singapore due to the tightening of employment pass policies.
These factors also contributed to the rise in local employment, he said, in addition to the collective efforts of both employers and workers to preserve jobs.
Another reason for the increase in resident employment was due to the resumption of work activities and the replacement of positions that were vacant in the period from April to June, he added.
Additionally, job search efforts contributed to increased awareness and opportunities for job seekers, boosting employment for residents, Ms Teo said.
Increase the unemployment rate for locals
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for locals (Singaporeans and permanent residents) rose to 4.7% in September, slightly worse than the 4.6% seen in August.
There were 112,500 unemployed residents in September, of whom 97,700 were Singaporeans.
Explaining why both the number of local workers and the resident unemployment rate increased in the third quarter, Ms Teo said that while there have been layoffs, the pool of job seekers has also grown.
But there is a positive conclusion to this, he said. “It means that people are joining the search, but also that people are getting the job.
“Now, of course, the goal must be to reduce the number of unemployed, we want the number to go down and we want to increase the number of employees.”
Layoffs also increased
Layoffs rose further in the third quarter to 9,100, compared to 8,130 in the prior three-month period. This is higher than the reduction figures at the peak of previous recessions, except in the first quarter of 2009 during the global financial crisis.
That quarter, a total of 12,760 jobs were eliminated.
Layoffs are expected to increase in the manufacturing and services sectors, and primarily in air transportation, as well as in the arts, entertainment and recreation industries for the third quarter.
This is because these sectors continued to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic and the need for safe management measures, MOM said.
Meanwhile, the construction sector is likely to see a decrease in staff reductions with the gradual resumption of activities after the period of interruption.
The ministry said weakness in the labor market is likely to persist as businesses and workers continue to operate in an uncertain economic environment, and conditions for travel-related sectors are expected to remain challenging.
In its report, MOM noted that salary and staff cuts could decline in the coming months as business sentiment and economic conditions improve.
The proportion of companies surveyed in September that indicated intentions to reduce wages or headcount has been on a downward trend since May. At the same time, more companies plan to hire in September compared to previous months.
[ad_2]
