SINGAPORE - More retrenched residents here were able to land a job quickly in the first quarter of this year, a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) report has found.
The proportion of retrenched Singaporeans and permanent residents who found a new job within six months hit 71.5 per cent in the first quarter, a high last seen in 2015. This is up from 66.8 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.
Trends were mixed by age, education and occupation, MOM said in its first quarter labour market report released on Friday (June 17).
The improvement was largely observed among middle-aged workers in their 40s and 50s, those working in production and related roles, and those with qualifications lower than secondary school.
For instance, eight in 10 retrenched production and transport operators, cleaners and labourers found work within six months in the first quarter, up from under seven in 10 in the previous quarter.
A more modest increase - from 64.4 per cent to 69 per cent - was seen among those in professional, managerial, executive and technical (PMET) roles, while the proportion of clerical, sales and service workers who found work in six months fell more than 4 percentage points over the previous quarter.
Almost eight in 10 workers aged 40 to 49 were re-employed within six months, up from under seven in 10 the previous quarter - a similar increase to that posted by workers with qualifications lower than secondary school.
Meanwhile, the long-term unemployment rate among residents - which accounts for those unemployed for 25 weeks or more - declined overall in March, for the second consecutive quarter since last September.
The trend was reflected in nearly all age groups and education levels, except for workers aged 50 to 59.
MOM noted that recruitment and resignation rates among PMET workers have been creeping up, though still below record highs.
"By industry, information and communications, financial services, health and social services, transportation and storage, and accommodation experienced higher turnover," said the ministry.
Its report also highlighted that retrenchments in the first quarter declined to a record low of 1,320 - or six for every 10,000 employees.
These improvements across the board, however, do not take into account the high-profile layoffs at various technology and cryptocurrency firms, including Coinbase, Shopee, Crypto.com and Tesla, earlier this month.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase slashed 18 per cent of its workforce, or 1,100 people, globally on Tuesday, including 5 per cent of its staff in Singapore.
The move follows a similar exercise by Crypto.com, which said last week that it would lay off 260 workers, as well as job cuts at e-commerce giant Shopee across Europe, South America and South-east Asia.
Commenting on the report, National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay said challenges remain in the form of cost pressures on employers, rising cost of living and job-skill mismatch, among others.
“The outlook for the rest of the year remains uncertain in light of the ongoing situation across the globe and severe inflationary pressures. As such, it remains important for all to... (stay) ready, relevant and resilient to prepare ourselves better for any curveballs come what may.”
