According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Singapore’s job market continued its gradual improvement in Q1 2024. 5,500 residents found jobs, driven by demand in the Financial & Insurance Services and Public Administration sectors, while non-residential employment declined by 800, mainly in the Construction and Manufacturing sectors.
Job vacancies in Singapore continued to increase for the second consecutive quarter, reaching 81,900 in March 2024, up from 79,800 in December 2023. However, the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons declined slightly to 1.56 in March 2024, which indicates a still-tight labour market.
Overall Unemployment Creeps Upwards
Despite the rise in vacancies, overall unemployment rates crept upwards, from 2.0% in December 2023 to 2.1% in March 2024. Resident unemployment rates also went from 2.8% to 3.0%, while citizen unemployment rates rose from 2.9% to 3.1% in the same time period.
Retrenchments declined from 3,460 in 4Q 2023 to 3,030 in 1Q 2024, with re-entry into Employment slightly dipping from 61.5% to 59.4%.
Looking ahead, and barring future global economic shocks, MOM anticipates continued slow improvement to Singapore’s economy in 2024, but as resident workforce growth slows, there has to be an increasing emphasis on higher-quality jobs for Singaporeans.
Featured image: Saulo Mohana @ Unsplash
