Singapore Q3 retrenchments rise to 4,800; resident unemployment edges up to 3%: flash data

[SINGAPORE] The number of layoffs rose to 4,800 in Q3, from 4,620 in Q2 – with Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Friday (Oct 30) warning of “emerging weaknesses in parts of the labour market” in its flash data release.

Retrenchments – which were concentrated in information and communications, financial services and manufacturing – were driven mainly by business restructuring, according to MOM.

Citizen unemployment ticked up to 3.1 per cent in September from 3 per cent in August, while resident unemployment – which also includes permanent residents – inched up to 3 per cent, from 2.9 per cent. Overall unemployment stood unchanged at 2 per cent.

Total employment grew by 27,700 in the third quarter, higher than the growth of 11,400 seen in Q2 and up 10.4 per cent year on year.

Still, most of that growth came from non-residents in construction and manufacturing. Resident employment was supported by essential and public services, but growth in external-facing sectors stayed subdued, MOM said, citing “global economic uncertainty”.

Looking ahead, MOM noted that “employers remained cautious about hiring and wage increases amid continued uncertainty”, as the share of firms expecting to hire or raise wages in the next three months both remained below July’s levels.