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By Ian Tan Hanhonn
The labour market continued to show improvement in the third quarter of 2022 – with total employment showing continued growth and unemployment rates staying below pre-covid levels.
Retrenchments, however, saw an increase to 1,120 – up from a record low of 830 in the previous quarter.
These were according to the Labour Market Report Third Quarter 2022, released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on 15 December 2022.
“Although the labour market continues to see improvement and labour demand remains robust, the uncertain global economic environment, higher global inflation, as well as geopolitical tensions, will weigh on the labour market going forward,” said the ministry.
Total employment expanded by 75,900 in Q3 2022, with resident employment increasing by 4,800 and non-resident employment increasing by 71,100.
Resident employment grew at a more moderate pace and was 4.4 per cent above the pre-pandemic level in 2019.
The increase in resident employment was led by the financial services, professional services, and information and communications sectors.
Accommodation also registered a seasonal increase due to the F1 Singapore Grand Prix event, which drove up average occupancy rate in September 2022.
As for non-resident employment, its numbers expanded at a faster pace, but has yet to recover to pre-COVID levels.
Most of the non-resident increases were found in manufacturing and construction – sectors which were more reliant on foreign manpower.
F&B services as well as arts, entertainment and recreation also saw an increase in non-resident employment.
The total number of job vacancies, although high, decreased in September 2022 to 108,200.
MOM expects employment growth in the fourth quarter to remain robust, but uneven across sectors.
Overall unemployment rate held at 2 per cent in Q3 2022, with resident unemployment at 2.8 per cent and citizen unemployment at 3 per cent.
Largest increase in unemployment rate was seen amongst residents aged 40 to 49, after two consecutive quarters of notable declines.
Q3 2022 saw retrenchments increase to 1,120 (0.6 per 1,000 employees), up from 830 (0.4 per 1,000 employees) in Q2 2022.
This was largely due to an uptick in retrenchments within the information and communications sector.
To remain competitive and resilient amidst global uncertainties, the Government encourages employers and workers to make full use of its programmes to accelerate their pace of transformation and upskilling.
The ministry said: “Workforce Singapore offers the Support for Job Redesign under Productivity Solutions Grant, which employers can tap on to increase the productivity and attractiveness of their jobs.
“They also offer Job Redesign Reskilling Programmes, which helps employers upskill their existing employees and enable them to take on a wider variety of roles.”