SINGAPORE — 93.7 per cent of the employment growth in Singapore is attributed to non-residents as retrenchments increased from the previous quarter’s record low.

This was revealed in the Labour Market Report for the third quarter of 2022 released by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower today (15 Dec).

Employment

Out of the 75,900 new jobs created in Q3 2022, 71,100 were attributed to non-residents and 4,800 to residents — Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs).

The increase in resident employment was 4.4 per cent above its pre-pandemic level, while non-resident employment was still 3.9 per cent below its pre-pandemic level.

The increase in resident employment was led by Financial Services, Professional Services, and Information & Communications.

The majority of the non-resident increases were in Manufacturing and Construction, sectors which were more reliant on non-resident workers. Food & Beverage Services and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation also saw a pick-up in non-resident employment.

The report also notes that accommodation registered a seasonal increase in resident workers due to the F1 Singapore Grand Prix event, which drove up average occupancy rate in September.

Unemployment rates

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rates (overall: 2.0%; resident: 2.8%; citizen: 3.0%) remained at around pre-COVID levels. They dipped in October 2022 after inching up in September.

Similar to the overall, the resident unemployment rates for most age and education groups remained at pre-COVID averages – even though upticks were observed between June and September 2022. Residents aged 40 to 49 saw the largest increase in the unemployment rate, after two consecutive quarters of notable declines.

 

Retrenchment

Retrenchments increased to 1,120 (or 0.6 retrenched per 1,000 employees) in 3Q 2022 from a record low of 830 in 2Q 2022 (or 0.4 retrenched per 1,000 employees).

The increase reflects an uptick in retrenchments from Information & Communications (2Q: 110; 3Q: 460). On the other hand, retrenchments in other sectors, including Accommodation and Construction, stayed low as they maintained strong hiring this quarter.

As the rise in retrenchments was driven by the Information & Communications sector, residents who saw an uptick in the incidence of retrenchment in 3Q 2022 matched the typical profile of resident employees in the sector – they are the PMETs, degree holders, and younger aged below 40.

After reaching an all-time high in March 2022, the number of job vacancies declined for the second consecutive quarter in September 2022 (108,200, seasonally adjusted). The decline was also more notable than the previous quarter’s decline, and broad-based across sectors. Consequently, the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons also eased to 2.20 in September 2022.

Job vacancies

According to the report, the number of job vacancies, 108,200, declined noticeably in September 2022, although it remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels of 52,900 in 2019. As a result, the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons of 2.20 also declined.

The bulk of the job vacancies in September 2022 continued to come from Manufacturing and Construction (21%), as well as from the growth sectors (32%) of Information & Communications, Financial & Insurance Services, Professional Services and Health & Social Services. The ongoing recovery in domestic and tourism activities also contributed to strong manpower demand from consumer-facing and tourism-related sectors (17%), including Food & Beverage Services and Wholesale & Retail Trade.

Labour turnover

The recruitment rate rose to 2.7%, the highest since 2014. The resignation rate also increased to 1.8 per cent and was at pre-COVID levels.

Across most sectors, their recruitment rate was above the resignation rate in 3Q 2022, but more so in Construction, Accommodation, Retail Trade and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation.

This reflected higher recruitment rates for clerical, sales & service workers and production & related workers14, as the recovery of tourism activities and the lifting of border restrictions led to a more rapid hiring pace to meet rising demand.

Minister for Manpower, Mr Tan See Leng, wrote on his Facebook page on Thursday, “Although labour demand remains robust, uncertain geopolitical conditions and higher global inflation will weigh on the labour market going forward. I encourage employers and workers to make full use of Government programmes to accelerate the pace of transformation to remain competitive and resilient as we look forward to a continued positive labour market outlook in the new year ahead.”

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