Resident jobless rate, retrenchments in Singapore fall in Q2

RESIDENT jobless rate and retrenchments in Singapore in the second quarter of 2017 are lower than in the first quarter of 2017, preliminary figures released on Friday by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed.

However, total employment continued to decline, largely reflecting a decrease in work permit holders in construction and marine.

Quarter-on-quarter, the unemployment rate of citizens fell to a seasonally-adjusted 3.3 per cent in June from 3.5 per cent in March, while the jobless rate of residents was a seasonally-adjusted 3.1 per cent in June, down from 3.2 per cent in March.

Fewer workers were retrenched in the second quarter of 2017 (3,500) compared to the previous quarter (4,000). The number was also significantly lower than a year ago (4,800). The decrease over the quarter was broad-based across industries.

The labour market outlook remains uneven across sectors, MOM noted.

"Hiring remains cautious in sectors such as construction and marine, but opportunities will continue to be available in finance and insurance, infocomms and media, healthcare, professional services and wholesale trade, which are the five sectors recently identified by the MOM where the potential for job creation is promising," the statement said.

Amendment note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that jobless rate and retrenchments of Singapore residents fall in Q2. Retrenchment data refers to all persons and not just residents while resident jobless rate did fall over the quarter. The article above has been revised to reflect this.