Singapore’s employment levels continued to expand in the first quarter, but at a moderated pace compared to the previous quarters, according to an advance release by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) published on Tuesday (April 30).
At the same time, retrenchments have also declined for the second consecutive quarter, from 3,460 in the last quarter last year to 3,000.
These trends follow the cooling labour demand in 2023, as downside risks in the global economy remain.
There has been an increase in resident employment, mainly in growth sectors such as:
- Financial Services
- Health and Social Services
- Public Administration & Education
Following the end of the festive period, the rise of employment in the above sectors outweighed the seasonal declines in the retail, food and beverage, and hospitality industries.
However, unemployment rates increased slightly in March 2024 to 2.1 per cent overall from 2 per cent in February. Despite the increase, MOM shared that it is within the range observed during non-recessionary periods.
“We do not expect sustained increases in unemployment rates, given continued labour market tightness,” MOM said.
According to polls conducted by the board, more firms have displayed intentions to hire in the next three months, with the percentage increasing from 47.7 per cent to 50.7 per cent.
That being said, wage improvements could slow, as the proportion of firms intending to raise wages declined from 32.6 per cent to 26.1 per cent.
The full report on the labour market’s performance for the first quarter will be released in mid-June.
Featured Image Credit: National Trade Union Congress (NTUC)