More firms are hiring workers on short-term contract as a way to manage their manpower cost. -- ST PHOTO: JOHN HENG
MORE firms are hiring workers on short-term contract as a way to manage their manpower cost.
The ranks of Singapore residents on contract employment has continued to rise, driven by those on short term contracts.
The number on term contracts rose 4.3 per cent to 197,200 in June, faster than the 0.8 rise in permanent employees.
Consequently, the share of resident employees on term contracts rose from 12.4 per cent in 2008 to 12.7 per cent in 2009, continuing the uptrend observed since the data were first collected in 2006, according to the Labour Force Survey conducted in mid-2009 by the Ministry of Manpower's Research and Statistics Department.
'The growth in 2009 was mainly driven by those on short-term contracts of less than three months, including casual and on-call workers, reflecting economic uncertainty,' said the MOM in a statement.
As a result of the weak economy, growth in income from work was largely flat this year, following strong gains in the last two years. The median monthly income among full-timers rose slightly by 0.5 per cent from $2,590 in June last year to $2,600 this year, compared to gains of 11 per cent in 2008 and 7.7 per cent in 2007.
Part-timers also posted higher median income of $620 compared with $600 a year ago. However, the median income for all employed residents dipped by 1.2 per cent from $2,450 in 2008 to $2,420 in 2009, as part-timers' share of employment rose.
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