File photo of people walking in to the office in the Central Business District in Singapore on Nov 16, 2022. (Photo: CNA/Hanidah Amin)
The Ministry of Manpower also noted the rise in retrenchments and the decline in job vacancies in its labour market report for the first quarter of 2023.
File photo of people walking in to the office in the Central Business District in Singapore on Nov 16, 2022. (Photo: CNA/Hanidah Amin)
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s total employment rate grew in the first quarter of 2023 - the sixth consecutive quarter of increase - even as the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) noted some signs of cooling labour demand.
In MOM’s latest labour market report on Thursday (Jun 15), total employment - excluding migrant domestic workers - went up by 33,000 in the first quarter this year, compared with 43,500 in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Total employment was at 3.8 per cent above the pre-pandemic level of December 2019, said the ministry, adding that non-resident employment exceeded that level for the first time - 1.7 per cent above - as of March 2023.
The increase in non-resident employment was mainly in construction and manufacturing, noted MOM.
Resident employment also rose over the quarter - at 4.9 per cent higher than pre-pandemic level - but declined in sectors such as retail trade and food and beverage services as the seasonal hiring for festivities ended.
“Looking ahead, employment growth is likely to moderate given the weaker external demand outlook and downside risks in the global economy,” said MOM.
Overall unemployment rates remained low at 1.8 per cent, said MOM.
"Even though the economic outlook has weakened, residents have yet to encounter more difficulties with job search," it added.
Retrenchments continued to increase in the first quarter to 3,820 – an increase from 2,990 in the fourth quarter of 2022.
The rise in retrenchments - for the third consecutive quarter - was mainly driven by the electronics manufacturing, information and communications and financial services sectors, said MOM.
"Retrenchments in other sectors have remained stable," the ministry added.
The Manpower Ministry said that retrenchments were mainly due to reorganisation or restructuring at 47.7 per cent, while 19.4 per cent were due to recession or downturn.
“Among retrenched residents, majority (71.7 per cent) of those retrenched in 3Q 2022 were able to find new jobs by 1Q 2023. The rate of re-entry has fared well compared to the pre-pandemic level of 65.9 per cent (4Q 2019).”
MOM noted that the labour market tightness eased as job vacancies declined for the fourth consecutive quarter to 99,600 in March 2023.
While the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons remained high at 2.28, it declined from December 2022 (2.33).
MOM advised employers and workers to press on with business and workforce transformation, and make full use of government programmes to adapt to the changing environment.
These government programmes include Jobs Transformation Maps and Workforce Singapore’s Career Conversion Programmes.
This would help both employers and workers to "remain competitive and resilient amidst a backdrop of a global economic slowdown and a more uncertain business environment", said the ministry.
On MOM's latest labour market report, NTUC assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday that there were some "positive observations", including the overall unemployment rate at 1.8 per cent and the growth in total employment - excluding migrant domestic workers - in the first quarter of the year.
However, he noted the increase in retrenchments compared with the previous quarter, adding that "structural challenges such as skills and jobs mismatches continue to be one of the main causes of unemployment".