Enough to cater to new job-seekers but gains could be offset by layoffs
By
Sue-Ann Chia, Senior Political Correspondent
-- ST FILE PHOTO
MORE than 30,000 jobs will be created this year - enough to absorb the pool of fresh graduates and new job-seekers, Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said yesterday.
But it is going to be tough to give an exact figure on job creation and job losses as economic conditions are continually changing, he told Parliament.
There will be 'a significant number of jobs, sufficient to cater for new school-leavers. Definitely more than 30,000 jobs all in', he said.
'What we are not sure about are the retrenchments likely to take place, and re-training requirements in the existing economy, as companies restructure and some companies have to cut back.'
On average, some 30,000 newcomers enter the workforce every year.
Mr Lim was responding to labour MP Halimah Yacob (Jurong GRC), who asked about the employment forecast this year.
He acknowledged that the job outlook today is much bleaker than in the boom years of 2007 and last year, when annual job creation exceeded 200,000.
But there are still jobs, he said.
The Economic Development Board envisages that 6,000 new jobs will become available from new investments that come onstream this year.
A number of sectors are continuing to hire, he added, citing construction, health care, public service and the upcoming integrated resorts.
According to earlier reports, the Education Ministry is recruiting more than 7,000 teachers and support staff this year, the Home Affairs Ministry is aiming to fill more than 1,000 vacancies, and the Health Ministry is looking to fill 4,500 positions over the next two years.
The Defence Ministry announced yesterday that it has more than 2,000 openings this year.
Still, this year's job gains could be hit by job losses - which could outstrip the high of 30,000 in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis.
Said Acting Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong, in a separate response to queries: 'If our economy were to contract sharply this year, it is possible that retrenchments could reach these levels seen in previous recessions.'
The signs are already there. Retrenchments rose significantly in the fourth quarter of last year.
Based on early notifications by companies which have cut jobs, about 4,800 workers were laid off between October and December last year, he said. Another 3,300 could face the axe over the next few months.
This means total retrenchments last year will be at least 11,218 - higher than the annual average of 10,000.
The final tally will be known when the Manpower Ministry releases figures at the end of this month.
Mr Gan also said last year's unemployment rate will be higher than the 2.1 per cent in 2007, which was a 10-year low.
He was responding to Mr Ong Ah Heng (Nee Soon Central), who asked about retrenchment projections, and Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim, who wanted a breakdown between local and foreign workers affected by layoffs.
Mr Gan explained that a more complete picture of the impact of job losses on locals and foreigners would be the total number of redundancies - which includes retrenchment and early termination of contracts.
Locals made up two-thirds of the 7,478 redundancies in the first nine months of last year. The rest were foreigners. The proportion mirrors the ratio of the local-to-foreign worker population here.
More redundancies can be expected over the next few quarters, he warned.
But he added that foreigners were still needed especially for jobs that Singaporeans shun.
'If companies are required to retrench only foreign workers, they may be forced to close down or move to countries...This will result in more job losses.'
