https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...aporeans and,of which 97,700 are Singaporeans.
Singapore’s jobless rate climbs to 3.6%; more than 20,000 retrenched year-to-date
Singapore central business district mask
A man wearing a face mask in the Raffles Place financial business district in Singapore on Apr 14, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Roslan Rahman)
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By Rachel Phua
@RachelPhuaCNA
30 Oct 2020 02:00PM
(Updated: 30 Oct 2020 02:00PM)
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SINGAPORE: Singapore’s unemployment rate rose to 3.6 per cent in September but the increase was at a slower rate compared to previous months, as the country re-opened from a COVID-19-induced slowdown.
Even then, officials warned that labour market conditions would stay soft amid the prolonged economic downturn.
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Third quarter estimates from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released on Friday (Oct 30) showed that the overall unemployment rate crept up by 0.2 percentage points from 3.4 per cent in August, which had already surpassed the high recorded during the peak of the global financial crisis.
The rate among Singaporeans and permanent residents went up from 4.6 per cent in August to 4.7 per cent, while the citizen unemployment rate increased from 4.7 per cent in August to 4.9 per cent.
This brings the total number of unemployed residents to 112,500, of which 97,700 are Singaporeans.
The pace of increase slowed in September - a 0.1 to 0.2 point hike - compared to the 0.3 to 0.4 point gains seen in the previous months, the ministry noted.
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RETRENCHMENTS
A total of 9,100 workers are likely to be retrenched in the third quarter, exceeding previous recessionary highs except the one during the global financial crisis, when 12,760 people were retrenched in the first quarter of 2009.
The latest estimate brings the expected number of layoffs so far this year to 20,450.
MOM warned that retrenchments are forecast to rise over the quarter in the manufacturing and services sector, primarily in arts, entertainment and recreation, and air transport, as these areas continue to be affected by the pandemic and the need for safe management measures.
On the other hand, there will be fewer job losses in construction as activities in the sector have gradually resumed after the "circuit breaker", the ministry said.
EMPLOYMENT
Employment - excluding foreign domestic workers - shrank by 26,900, largely due to the number of job cuts among non-residents in the construction and manufacturing sector.
This comes after a record 103,800 decline in the second quarter.
However, employment picked up in the services sector, mainly among healthcare, public administration, social services, and food and beverage players, MOM said. Resident employment also rebounded in the quarter.
MOM said though there were job gains among residents as businesses resumed, the labour market would remain soft.
"Weakness in the labour market is likely to persist as companies and workers continue to operate in an uncertain economic environment. Conditions for travel-related sectors continue to remain challenging," the ministry said.
"There remains significant uncertainty over the length and severity of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as the global economy’s trajectory of recovery," it added.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore cautioned on Wednesday that while the local jobless rate is likely to bottom out at the end of this year, it is likely to stay elevated in 2021 as recovery will remain sluggish.
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