SINGAPORE: Singapore's overall unemployment rate rose in the second quarter to its highest level in more than a decade, as retrenchments more than doubled and total employment declined amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The overall unemployment rate rose to 2.9 per cent from 2.4 per cent in the preceding quarter, while total employment (excluding foreign domestic workers) plunged more than four-fold, preliminary data from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (Jul 29) showed.
Advertisement Advertisement "However, unemployment rates remained lower than previous recessionary peaks during the global financial crisis and SARS," MOM added.
Overall unemployment rate hit 3.3 percent in the third quarter of 2009, during the global financial crisis, and 4.8 per cent in the third quarter of 2003, amid the SARS outbreak.
Resident unemployment rate - Singaporeans and permanent citizens - rose to 3.9 per cent in the second quarter from 3.3 per cent in the preceding quarter, while the unemployment rate of Singaporeans increased from 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent.
There were 90,500 unemployed residents in June 2020, of whom 79,600 were citizens, MOM said.
Advertisement Advertisement Singapore implemented a "circuit breaker" from Apr 7 to Jun 1 to curb the spread of COVID-19, and began a phased reopening of its economy on Jun 2. It entered Phase 2 of the reopening on Jun 19.
RETRENCHMENTS GO UP
Retrenchments more than doubled in the second quarter to 6,700, from 3,220 in the previous quarter.
The number of retrenchments in the second quarter surpassed the 5,510 retrenchments in the second quarter of 2003 amid the SARS outbreak. It remained below the peak of 12,760, recorded the first quarter of 2009, during the global financial crisis.
All three broad sectors - manufacturing, services and construction - saw a rise in retrenchments over the quarter.
"Retrenchments rose significantly in wholesale trade and transport equipment, reflecting a reduced demand in retail and air travel respectively," MOM said.
HIRING PLUNGES
Total employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, fell by 121,800, more than four times the decline in the first quarter. This brought the total employment decline since the start of 2020 to 147,500.
The drop was felt across the three broad sectors of manufacturing, services and construction, MOM said.
Within the services sector, the contraction was sharpest in food and beverage services, retail trade, arts, entertainment and recreation, and education.
Construction also saw a steep decline in employment. Employment contraction in manufacturing was "more modest in comparison", the ministry added.
MOM warned that the external economic environment remains weak and some countries are experiencing a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
“Conditions for travel-related sectors remain very challenging. COVID-safe management measures will also moderate the pace of recovery in other sectors,” it said in a press release.
"Hence, softness in the labour market is likely to persist with continued weakness in hiring and pressure on companies to retrench."
[h=3]READ: Singapore in technical recession after GDP shrinks 41.2% in Q2 from preceding quarter due to COVID-19[/h]Singapore is in the midst of a technical recession, after its economy contracted by two consecutive quarters in the first half of this year.
Advanced estimates from the Ministry of Trade and Industry earlier this month showed that the country’s economy shrunk by 41.2 per cent in the second quarter, following a 3.3 per cent decline in the first quarter.
"Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, we have been ramping up job support measures. These efforts are now coordinated through the National Jobs Council," says MOM.
Besides the Job Support Scheme, government hiring is being "brought forward" and more resources have been made available to implement career conversion programmes, the manpower ministry added.
"For jobseekers who are unable to secure a job due to the weak labour market, attachments and training opportunities will be provided for them to gain industry-relevant skills to help them do so once the market recovers."
The response from companies to provide traineeship positions for new and recent graduates under the SGUnited Traineeships Programme has been "very strong", it said.
These positions will be extended to mid-career individuals as attachments under the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme, with more than 13,000 available attachments.
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