Total employment hits 99.5% of pre-pandemic level

Singapore's labour market remains tight, with a large number of job vacancies still waiting to be filled, even though resident employment has surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

In a further sign that employers are trying to hang on to their workers, retrenchments fell to record lows while the unemployment rate dipped further.

There were 126,100 job vacancies in June - slightly lower than the 128,100 vacancies in March, but far higher than the 117,100 recorded in December last year.

Before the release of the labour market report for the second quarter of this year on Wednesday, job vacancies had climbed for seven straight quarters, indicating that employers were finding it hard to find workers.

In June, there were 2.53 vacancies for each unemployed person, showing that the market had tightened even further since March, when there were 2.42 vacancies to each unemployed person.

Meanwhile, the market continues to soak up available workers.

Total employment grew by 66,500 in the second quarter, significantly higher than the 42,000 increase in the previous quarter, and the highest since the second quarter of 2008.

The latest round of employment growth means total employment has reached 99.5 per cent of the pre-pandemic level in December 2019, noted the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Driving much of the increase in the second quarter, at 59,400, were non-residents, especially in construction and manufacturing, as employers backfilled positions following the significant relaxation of border controls in April.

But non-resident employment remains 10 per cent below the pre-pandemic level. "We expect non-resident employment to continue to grow at a robust pace, as it catches up to its pre-pandemic level - this will help ease labour market tightness," said MOM.

Resident employment, comprising Singaporeans and permanent residents, rose to 4.2 per cent above the pre-pandemic level in June this year. The largest increases were in financial and insurance services, information and communications and professional services.

Singapore's overall unemployment rate declined further to 2.1 per cent in July from 2.2 per cent in March, while the resident unemployment rate fell from 3 per cent to 2.9 per cent over the same period.

Retrenchments fell to 990, rewriting the previous record low of 1,320 in the first quarter. This translates to a retrenchment rate of five per 10,000 employees.

Said MOM: "Like previous quarters, the few retrenchments that did occur were mainly due to business reorganisation or restructuring. Poorer business and higher costs were also common reasons."

The recruitment rate rose over the quarter to 2.6 per cent, a rate last seen in 2014. On the other hand, the resignation rate remained stable at 1.7 per cent for the fourth consecutive quarter.

MOM said accommodation and air transport, and its supporting services, saw the largest increase in recruitment rates. "Tourism-and aviation-related sectors are expected to continue to benefit from the strong recovery in air passengers and international visitor arrivals," it added.

The resident long-term unemployment rate - those who are out of a job for at least 25 weeks - declined to 0.7 per cent in June, from 0.8 per cent in March.

But older residents aged 60 and above continue to face higher levels of unemployment, including long-term unemployment.

Permanent Secretary for Manpower Ng Chee Khern said MOM has seen an increase in the number of job seekers in this age group. This was a key reason for extending the Jobs Growth Incentive wage support scheme for another six months to next March.