While preliminary figures released by the Manpower Ministry last week showed the unemployment rate staying at the previous quarter's 2.2 per cent , 2,000 workers were retrenched between Jul and Sept - up from 1,798 in the earlier three months. -- PHOTO: THE BUSINESS TIMES
AN ALREADY weak job market will continue to languish in the short term and Singaporeans should brace themselves for more retrenchment.
This cautionary note came from Acting Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong, at a service award ceremony held at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) cultural centre on Monday.
And it comes in the wake of more people losing their jobs in the third quarter.
While preliminary figures released by the Manpower Ministry last week showed the unemployment rate staying at the previous quarter's 2.2 per cent , 2,000 workers were retrenched between Jul and Sept - up from 1,798 in the earlier three months.
Overall, 13,600 fewer jobs were added in the past quarter.
The short term outlook for the job market will be challenging, said Mr Gan, as businessmen turn more cautious.
'In hiring practices, the businessmen will be more cautious so job creation will slow down, there could also be higher retrenchment,' he said.
But he added that the tripartite partners - the ministry, unions and the Singapore National Employer's Federation - were working together to help employees whose jobs have been hit by the downturn.
This includes sending them for training and upgrading programmes, as well as teaching them new skill sets to make them more versatile between sectors.
Speaking at the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) event, Mr Gan gave special focus to the tourism sector which he said would not be spared by the downturn.
People are less confident in uncertain times, and this may prompt them to cut down on travel and opt for shorter trips instead, he explained.
But amid the gloom, Mr Gan pointed to a bright spot - regional travel would help prop up the sector, which remains good in the medium and long term.
He also urged the industry to 'continue to train manpower' so that they 'will be there to capitalise on the growth opportunities' when the economy recovers.
'We need to address the short term challenges but at the same time our infrastructure and basic policy framework has to be based on our medium and long term outlook,' he said.
At the ceremony, 1,928 service staff received Excellent Service Awards (EXSA), an annual national award launched in 1994 to recognise individuals who have delivered outstanding service.
