Singapore’s resident employment rate rises to above pre-COVID levels
- Charles Chau
- Topics: Health and Wellness, Home Page - News, News, Recruitment, Singapore
The figures were based on the employment rate of residents aged 15 and over, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)’s Labour Force in Singapore Advance Release 2021 report.
MOM attributed the broad-based improvement in Singapore’s employment rate across different age groups to the country’s economic recovery and government measures supporting employment such as the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package (SGUJS).
By age group, the employment rate of those aged 15 to 24 rose by the highest margin to 37.2% in June from 30.9% a year ago. This was mainly due to more students taking on part-time or temporary work on the side.
For residents aged 25 to 64, this rate grew marginally to 81.8% in June from 80.3% year-on-year, while that for those aged 65 and above rose to 31.7%, up from 28.5% last year.
READ: Singapore suffered significant employment losses due to COVID-19
Meanwhile, the nominal median income of residents grew by 3.2% to S$4,680 (US$3,423) in June, from S$4,534 (US$3,316) in June last year. This was after it fell by 0.6% last year. After accounting for inflation, the growth in real median income was smaller at 1.1%, more than offsetting the decline of 0.4% seen last year.
“We expect the labour market recovery to continue in the second half of the year and into 2022, but in an uneven manner across sectors,” MOM said.
