Resident employment dips in Singapore, but expected to recover

Resident employment in Singapore fell by 1,200 in the second quarter of 2023, marking the first contraction in the number of employed Singapore citizens and permanent residents for three years.

While sectors such as community, social and personal services, and financial and insurance services saw a surge in jobs addition, this was offset by declines in the retail trade and beverage services sectors, according to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Boosted by the recovery in tourism and year-end festivities, the ministry also expects resident employment to rebound for the rest of 2023, albeit at a slower rate than that witnessed in 2022.

Overall, total employment rose for the seventh consecutive quarter as 25,500 non-residents were hired in the second quarter of 2023, with almost half in the construction sector, reported CNA.

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MOM also cautioned of a potential rise in unemployment in the coming months. In July, the first month of the third quarter, overall unemployment increased to 2%, up from 1.9% in June.

Job vacancies stood at 87,900 in June, which represents the fifth consecutive quarter of decline. This caused the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed people to dip to 1.94, from 2.28 in March. In June 2023, an MOM poll indicated that 58.2% of organisations had plans to hire in the next three months, down from 64.8% in March.

“Given the weak external environment and economic growth for the rest of the year, labour demand could ease further and be uneven across industries,” MOM added.