Layoffs in Singapore up in Q2, unemployment among degree-holders highest since 2009

UNEMPLOYMENT rate in Singapore rose to 2.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2016, compared to 1.9 per cent in the first quarter, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Thursday. The numbers have accounted for seasonality.

Degree-holders had their unemployment rates rise to the highest level since 2009, the figures showed. There were also "sustained increases" in unemployment among residents aged 30 and above and, in particular, among those aged 50 and above for the fifth consecutive quarter.

Some 9,510 workers were laid off in the first half of 2016 - the highest since 2009, when 18,740 workers lost their jobs.

Based on Central Provident Fund records, 45 per cent of residents made redundant in the first quarter of 2016 re-entered employment by June 2016, down slightly from the previous quarter - at 46 per cent - and the same period last year, at 55 per cent. The re-entry rate was also the lowest since June 2009.

This comes as the number of job seekers outnumbered job openings for the first time since June 2012. As at June 2016, 93 job openings were available for every 100 job seekers.