Unemployment in Singapore rises to 2.1% in June: MOM

THE seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Singapore went up to 2.1 per cent in June this year, a slight increase from the 1.9 per cent in March.

This is according to preliminary estimates for the second quarter of 2016, released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Thursday morning.

The unemployment rate among Singapore residents went up to 3 per cent (from 2.7 per cent in the previous quarter). For Singapore citizens, the rate rose to 3.1 per cent (from 2.6 per cent previously).

The MOM's data showed that some 5,500 workers were made redundant in the second quarter of 2016, up from 4,710 in the first quarter and 3,250 a year ago.

Over the quarter, layoffs in manufacturing fell, while they increased in services and stayed relatively unchanged for construction.

Singapore's total employment in June 2016 reached 3,674,700, 1.3 per cent higher than a year ago. This was similar to the 1.4 per cent pace in March 2016, but slower than the average growth of about 2 per cent in 2015.