Layoffs ease in Q1 from Q4; Over half from services sector

Singapore

DESPITE warnings of labour pains ahead, layoffs in the first quarter of the year eased from the previous quarter - although they were still higher than a year ago, according to a preliminary labour market report released on Thursday by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Coming a day after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) issued its twice-yearly macroeconomic review, which raised concerns about the weakening labour market, MOM's report indicates there were 4,600 redundancies in January-March 2016, down from 5,370 in October-December 2015. The number was 3,500 a year ago.