Job vacancies hit record high of 98,700 in September: MOM

Border restrictions and manpower demand pushed job vacancies here to an all-time high of 98,700 in September - up from 92,100 in June, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) reported yesterday.

The figures, which are seasonally adjusted, also show there were 209 job openings for every 100 unemployed people, up from 163 in June.

Other data show that the number of vacancies is more than double the number of unemployed.

This marked the fifth consecutive quarter that vacancies have risen, although the pace of increase slowed.

The higher number of vacancies was due to border restrictions that curbed the inflow of foreign labour.

Total employment declined by a significantly smaller extent in the third quarter, decreasing by 2,400, excluding migrant domestic workers, compared with a drop of 16,300 in the previous quarter.

This was because resident employment rose by 19,100 while non-resident employment fell by 21,500.

This was observed in sectors that had seen a substantial drop in work permit holders - manufacturing, construction, food and beverage, and administrative and support services. These sectors accounted for 38 per cent of all job vacancies.

"The number of job vacancies and the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons are expected to remain high until border restrictions are lifted," said the MOM.

There was also sustained demand in growth sectors such as professional and financial services, information and communications, and health and social services, where resident employment has also increased in tandem, it added.

Occupations with more vacancies included software, Web and multimedia developers, systems analysts, commercial and marketing sales executives, and nurses.

Singapore Human Resources Institute president Low Peck Kem said the labour market will remain tight for the right talent next year: "We would still expect to see high levels of vacancies."

AYP Group managing director Jolin Nguyen noted that many of the industries that require large sources of labour are those that could benefit from automation. "This shows the importance of business entities evolving to adopt a leaner workforce," she added.

National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) assistant secretary-general Desmond Choo said that employers and industries could work with training partners to address the structural problem of higher vacancies.

"A targeted approach at specific industries would have to be the way forward," he added.