Singapore's economy fell into its first recession in six years as the global financial crisis reduced demand for Singapore's exports and factory output. -- BT FILE PHOTO
DAILY, an average of about 35 people lost their jobs during July to September this year, a big jump from the 21 a day in the preceding three months.
The increase, shown in the latest official figures, signals the growing depth of the economic crisis.
In all, 3,178 people were either laid off or had their contracts ended prematurely in the third-quarter, said the Manpower Ministry on Monday when it released the numbers.
This is a 70 per cent rise over the 1,884 jobs lost in the second quarter. More significantly, it marks the highest number of job losses since the last quarter of 2006.
But expect more, said analysts interviewed, adding that it is just the tip of the retrenchment iceberg.
The third-quarter figures to September, they say, do not fully capture the total impact of the fallout sparked by the collapse on Sept 15 of US investment bank Lehmann Brothers.
Already, every economic indicator listed in the ministry's report bore bad news.
The resident unemployment rate of Singaporeans and permanent residents stands at at 3.3 per cent in September, a rise over June's 3.1 per cent.
Also down are productivity, total employment growth, the number of job vacancies dipped and recruitment rates.
One bright spark is that the the service sector is likely to continue to hire in the fourth quarter for the year-end festive activities.
