Total employment grows for first time in Q1 since start of pandemic: MOM

SINGAPORE'S total employment grew in Q1 2021 after four consecutive quarters of decline, with growth in resident employment outpacing the decline in non-resident employment, according to advance estimates by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

The bulk of the employment increases were in services. Specifically, sectors such as information & communications, financial services, and professional services continued to see employment expansion.

Overall, unemployment rates eased a further 0.1 percentage point from 3 per cent to 2.9 per cent. For residents, this figure dipped from 4.1 per cent to 4 per cent, and for citizens, this dropped slightly from 4.3 per cent to 4.2 per cent.

The number of unemployed residents fell from 104,300 in December 2020 to 95,500 in March 2021.

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo called this a "significant turn", adding that the advance estimates are "very encouraging".

"The economy, and the job market, in particular, continued to recover, and the recovery was of a good enough pace that for the first time since the first quarter of 2019 overall employment expanded," she noted, following a visit to the NTUC Learning Hub at Bras Basah.

Since peaking in September 2020 at 3.5 per cent overall, unemployment rates have fallen steadily over the past two quarters, although they remain elevated compared to pre-Covid-19 figures.

The ministry further noted that ongoing company polls show more positive business sentiments, with 73 per cent of companies polled in March saying they have plans to hire, a rise from 65 per cent in December. Only a small minority had the intention to reduce headcount and/or reduce salary.

Retrenchments are also expected to drop sharply in Q1 (2,100) to a level usually observed in pre-pandemic quarters. This would reflect the second consecutive quarter of decline since retrenchment numbers peaked in Q3 2020 (9,120).

The likelihood of retrenchment is expected to drop as well, from 2.8 retrenched per 1,000 employees in Q4 2020 to 1.1 in Q1 2021.

Despite the good prognosis, Mrs Teo urged caution. "I would say that the job market looks to have improved, but I would urge that we remain very cautious, and that anything can still happen given how the public health situation is evolving very quickly around the world."

MOM noted that there could still be pockets of job displacements due to ongoing restructuring and reoganisation.

In addition to encouraging employees to leverage schemes that support reskilling and expand local hiring, it also noted that the profile of job vacancies has changed due to business transformations and restructuring.

"More vacancies are being created to meet new business requirements rather than to replace resigned staff. MOM encourages employers and jobseekers to keep an open mind to new opportunities and make full use of the programmes and services that have been made available."

Mrs Teo added that her ministry is still concerned about people who have been looking for jobs for six months or more, and encouraged them to sign up for MOM schemes to help jobseekers, such as the SGUnited Traineeships and mid-career programmes.

"The emphasis on helping those who have been taking a while longer to get back into the workforce must continue," she said.