SINGAPORE: Singapore recorded its sharpest fall in total employment in more than two decades in 2020, with non-residents accounting for all of the employment decline, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Tuesday (Mar 16).
Total employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, contracted by 166,600 last year, according to the Labour Market Report 2020 released on Tuesday. The number of employed non-residents fell by 181,500 last year.
AdvertisementAdvertisementResident – Singaporeans and permanent residents – employment grew by 14,900, and rebounded to “slightly above pre-COVID levels” as a result of improvements in the second half of the year.
Resident employment trends were mixed across different sectors, with the largest contractions in tourism and aviation-related sectors, which were severely affected by travel restrictions and safe distancing measures. Resident employment grew in some industries, including public administration and education, health and social services, as well as finance and insurance services.
Non-resident employment fell in all sectors, with the bulk in construction and manufacturing. The decline was mainly driven by holders of work permits and other work passes, said MOM, with a decrease of 138,800. This was followed by a fall of 26,000 S pass holders and 16,700 employment pass holders.
[h=3]READ: Economists upgrade Singapore’s 2021 GDP growth forecast to 5.8%: MAS survey[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisement
Annual employment change, excluding foreign domestic workers, by residential status. (Graph: MOM)
Overall unemployment rate rose from 2.3 per cent in 2019 to 3 per cent in 2020. Resident unemployment also grew from 3.1 per cent in 2019 to 4.1 per cent in 2020, while citizen unemployment went up from 3.3 per cent in 2019 to 4.2 per cent in 2020.
Although the annual average unemployment rates rose in 2020 compared to 2019, they did not exceed levels recorded during the SARS epidemic in 2003 and the global financial crisis in 2009. In the last two months of 2020, monthly unemployment rates had started to fall, said MOM.
RETRENCHMENTS RISE
AdvertisementThe number of retrenchments for the whole of 2020, at 26,110 workers, was more than double of 2019, when there were 10,690 retrenchments.
But the incidence of retrenchment in 2020, at 12.8 retrenched per 1,000 employees, was lower than in past recessionary years, which averaged 22.5 per cent retrenched per 1,000 employees. This is after taking into account increases in the size of the labour force over the years.
The rate of retrenchment for resident workers was 11.1 per 1,000 resident employees while the rate of non-residents being retrenched was 15.7 per 1,000 non-resident employees.
Overall, the re-entry rate among retrenched residents in 2020 was 62 per cent, slightly lower than 64 per cent in 2019, although there was an improvement in the final quarter of the year, said MOM.
The number of seasonally-adjusted job vacancies rose to 56,500 in December 2020, a high last seen in March 2019.
“This partly reflects the government support measures to encourage hiring,” said MOM.
[h=3]READ: Budget 2021: Jobs Support Scheme extended for worst-hit sectors as part of S$11 billion package[/h][h=3]READ: Commentary: Singaporeans have more opportunities for jobs with Budget 2021[/h]The Singapore economy is expected to see a gradual recovery over the course of the year, although the pace of recovery “is likely to be uneven across sectors”, it added.
“Labour market conditions remain uncertain although we have started 2021 on a firmer footing than in 2020,” said MOM. “Labour market recovery may be gradual and uneven across sectors.”
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Total employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, contracted by 166,600 last year, according to the Labour Market Report 2020 released on Tuesday. The number of employed non-residents fell by 181,500 last year.
AdvertisementAdvertisementResident – Singaporeans and permanent residents – employment grew by 14,900, and rebounded to “slightly above pre-COVID levels” as a result of improvements in the second half of the year.
Resident employment trends were mixed across different sectors, with the largest contractions in tourism and aviation-related sectors, which were severely affected by travel restrictions and safe distancing measures. Resident employment grew in some industries, including public administration and education, health and social services, as well as finance and insurance services.
Non-resident employment fell in all sectors, with the bulk in construction and manufacturing. The decline was mainly driven by holders of work permits and other work passes, said MOM, with a decrease of 138,800. This was followed by a fall of 26,000 S pass holders and 16,700 employment pass holders.
[h=3]READ: Economists upgrade Singapore’s 2021 GDP growth forecast to 5.8%: MAS survey[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisement
Overall unemployment rate rose from 2.3 per cent in 2019 to 3 per cent in 2020. Resident unemployment also grew from 3.1 per cent in 2019 to 4.1 per cent in 2020, while citizen unemployment went up from 3.3 per cent in 2019 to 4.2 per cent in 2020.
Although the annual average unemployment rates rose in 2020 compared to 2019, they did not exceed levels recorded during the SARS epidemic in 2003 and the global financial crisis in 2009. In the last two months of 2020, monthly unemployment rates had started to fall, said MOM.
RETRENCHMENTS RISE
AdvertisementThe number of retrenchments for the whole of 2020, at 26,110 workers, was more than double of 2019, when there were 10,690 retrenchments.
But the incidence of retrenchment in 2020, at 12.8 retrenched per 1,000 employees, was lower than in past recessionary years, which averaged 22.5 per cent retrenched per 1,000 employees. This is after taking into account increases in the size of the labour force over the years.
The rate of retrenchment for resident workers was 11.1 per 1,000 resident employees while the rate of non-residents being retrenched was 15.7 per 1,000 non-resident employees.
Overall, the re-entry rate among retrenched residents in 2020 was 62 per cent, slightly lower than 64 per cent in 2019, although there was an improvement in the final quarter of the year, said MOM.
The number of seasonally-adjusted job vacancies rose to 56,500 in December 2020, a high last seen in March 2019.
“This partly reflects the government support measures to encourage hiring,” said MOM.
[h=3]READ: Budget 2021: Jobs Support Scheme extended for worst-hit sectors as part of S$11 billion package[/h][h=3]READ: Commentary: Singaporeans have more opportunities for jobs with Budget 2021[/h]The Singapore economy is expected to see a gradual recovery over the course of the year, although the pace of recovery “is likely to be uneven across sectors”, it added.
“Labour market conditions remain uncertain although we have started 2021 on a firmer footing than in 2020,” said MOM. “Labour market recovery may be gradual and uneven across sectors.”
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