In the newly released statistics of advanced labor market for the second quarter of 2016, it can be seen that unemployment among Singaporeans (and permanent residents) has increased compared to the first quarter of this year.
Ministry of Manpower (MOM), which released the statistics on Thursday (28 July 2016), said the unemployment rate among Singaporeans rose to 3.1 per cent, from 2.6 per cent in the first quarter (January, February, and March). Meanwhile, for the resident unemployment rate (referring to citizens and permanent residents), the number increased from 2.7 per cent to 3 per cent in this quarter.
In the seasonally-adjusted statistics, the overall unemployment rate rose a little less much in comparison, from 1.9 per cent in March to 2.1 per cent in June.
The steady ascent of retrenchment also contributed largely in the unemployment rate, with about 5,500 layoffs in the second quarter this year, compared with 4,710 in the first quarter. Last year, only about 3,250 layoffs took place in the second quarter.
As for the employment rate, the estimated number of 5,500 workers were employed in this quarter, significantly lower than the number of the first quarter (13,000) and in the second quarter of 2015 (9,700).
Further information of the statistics can be accessed in http://stats.mom.gov.sg
