More workers laid off in 2014; half were PMETs: Manpower Ministry

SINGAPORE - The number of workers laid off last year rose for the fourth consecutive year, said the Manpower Ministry (MOM) in a report released on Thursday.

A total of 12,930 people lost their jobs in 2014, up from 11,560 in 2013.

Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents made up a smaller share of the layoffs last year at 56 per cent, compared with 65 per cent in 2013, and this was lower than their two-thirds respresentation in the total workforce, excluding maids.

MOM found that the majority of the affected workers were from the services sector, which had employed 56.2 per cent of those who were asked to go. Companies in the sector listed business restructuring for greater work efficiency as the top reason for redundancy last year.

Professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) were once again most vulnerable to layoffs, a trend that has continued since 2012. But their share of the overall pool of workers made redundant last year fell off slightly at just over half, or 50.5 per cent, down from a peak of 55.6 per cent in 2013.

PMETs made up 53 per cent of resident employees in 2014. PMETs who were laid off in the first three quarters of the year were less likely to be in work by December, compared with other occupational groups. But across the board, the rate of re-entry into employment rose, leading the overall rate to climb to 67.7 per cent last year, up from 65.9 per cent in 2013.

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