Singapore – Total employment and redundancies fall in Q1 2017

By memberservices@staffingindustry.com (Danny Romero)

Total employment levels and redundancies declined in Singapore for the first quarter of 2017 when compared to the previous quarter, according to the latest Labour Market Report from the Ministry of Manpower.

The report shows that total employment declined by 6,800 in 1Q 2017, after growth of 2,300 in the previous quarter. The decline reflected a reduction in the foreign workforce, mainly due to a decrease in Work Permit Holders in Manufacturing and Construction, a result of low oil prices and continued weakness in private sector construction activity respectively. At the same time, employment continued to grow in sectors such as Community, Social & Personal Services and Financial & Insurance Services.

Meanwhile, redundancies fell to 4,000 in Q1 2017, from 5,440 in 4Q 2016. Manufacturing redundancies were the lowest in the past six quarters.

After declining for the previous seven quarters, the seasonally-adjusted job vacancies to unemployed persons ratio improved from 0.77 in the quarter ending December 2016 to 0.81 in the first quarter of 2017.

“The labour market outlook remains uneven across sectors,” the Ministry stated. “Hiring expectations remain cautious in sectors such as Construction and Marine, while sectors such as Finance & Insurance, Information & Communications, Healthcare and certain segments of Manufacturing should continue to support job growth.”

“With continued cyclical weakness in some sectors and ongoing business restructuring, redundancies and the unemployment rate may remain elevated,” the Ministry said.

Source:: Singapore – Total employment and redundancies fall in Q1 2017