Singapore's resident employment levels back at pre-Covid levels: MOM

SINGAPORE'S resident employment figures have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by end-2020, with unemployment rates falling for the second consecutive month in December, according to advance estimates by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Resident employment grew by 28,900 in the fourth quarter, moderating from the 43,200 seen in the previous quarter.

However, Q4's growth was offset by a continued decline in non-resident employment of 42,400, resulting in a total employment contraction of 13,500 in the quarter.

Most of the employment decline occurred in the manufacturing and construction sectors, and this was mainly attributed to reductions in non-resident work permit holders, MOM said.

On the other hand, employment grew in services, primarily in public administration and education, the ministry added.

On the whole, resident employment grew by 9,300 in 2020, while non-resident employment fell by 181,500, or 16 per cent. This resulted in an overall decline of 172,200.

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"The fact that resident employment actually managed to have some modest growth is something that we are very encouraged about. It speaks to the workers' resilience, it speaks to the companies, the employers' willingness to retain a strong Singaporean core," Manpower Minister Josephine Teo told reporters over a virtual briefing.

Unemployment rates fell for the second straight month in December. Overall unemployment rates fell to 3.2 per cent from 3.3 per cent in November, while resident unemployment rates fell to 4.4 per cent from 4.6 per cent.

There were 6,100 retrenchments in Q4, down from 9,120 in Q3, the first decline after five quarters of consecutive increases, MOM said.

For the full year, the total retrenchment figure is expected to reach 26,570, and these occurred mainly in arts, entertainment and recreation, wholesale trade and air transport services.

Although this figure is comparable to retrenchments seen in past recessions - there were 32,800, 27,570 and 23,430 during the 1998 Asian Financial Crisis, 2001 Dot-Com Bust and 2009 Global Financial Crisis respectively - MOM noted that the incidence of retrenchment for 2020 is "significantly lower" when taking into account the size of the workforce.

In 2020, there were 13 retrenched per 1,000 employees, compared to 32.7 per 1,000 in 1998 , 26.3 in 2001, 16.7 in 2003 and 14.2 in 2009.

However, Mrs Teo warned that retrenchment levels could remain elevated this year.

"Although the momentum since the reopening of our economy has been sustained thus far, we have to acknowledge that significant risks still remain and the momentum can stall," she said.

"So our priority is to try and continue to stabilise the situation and to try and boost hiring demand from within the business sector."