Singapore’s jobless rate in August falls to six-year low
- Claire Lee
- Topics: Home Page - News, Job Cuts, News, Recruitment, Singapore
Over the month of August, the overall unemployment rate fell to 1.9% in August, while resident unemployment and citizen unemployment rate fell to 2.7% and 2.8% respectively, according to MOM’s monthly unemployment situation report on Friday. All three rates were 0.2 percentage points lower than their previous levels in July.
In August, 64,800 residents were unemployed, among whom 57,600 were citizens, marking the lowest level unemployment rates have fallen to since March 2016.
While this represents a six-year low for Singapore’s jobless rate, MOM has warned of risks of an economic slowdown that could dampen the employment market.
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“While unemployment rates are currently lower than pre-pandemic levels, the increased risk of a slowdown amidst contraction of manufacturing activity, soaring inflation and interest rate hikes could dampen labour market activity,” said MOM.
Previously, unemployment figures used to be released on a quarterly basis until mid-2020, when MOM wanted to track the labour market more closely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
