Layoffs double in Q2; total employment dives by quarterly record of 122,000

Actual numbers likely to be bigger; worst not over, say Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, economists

Sharon See

Published Wed, Jul 29, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

SINGAPORE'S total employment saw its worst quarterly contraction on record in the second quarter of 2020, according to preliminary data, and economists fear the worst is yet to come.

The total number of people working between April and June shrank by 121,800, almost five times the 25,700 seen in Q1, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday. The contraction in employment in Q2 was broad-based across the manufacturing, services and construction sectors.

The poor showing in Q2 corresponds with Singapore's "circuit breaker" period, when the economy was partially shut down from April 7 to June 1 to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Retrenchments more than doubled in Q2 to 6,700, compared with 3,220 in Q1. MOM noted that while Q2's figure has surpassed the quarterly peak of 5,510 seen during the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) outbreak in 2003, it is still lower than the 12,760 …