Retrenchments up in 1st quarter of 2019 as Singapore's economic growth slows
SINGAPORE — More workers in Singapore were retrenched in the first quarter of 2019, when compared to the previous quarter as well as a year ago.
According to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) labour market report released on Thursday (13 June), there were 3,230 retrenchments in this year’s first quarter. Of these retrenchments, 3,010 were on permanent employees while the rest were on term-contract workers.
This is a rise from the 2,510 retrenchments in the fourth quarter of 2018. It is also higher than the figure in the first quarter of 2018, which was 2,320.
The report comes as Singapore’s first-quarter gross domestic product posted its slowest growth in almost a decade at 1.2 per cent, amid global uncertainties.
Top reason for retrenchment
MOM said in the report that the top reason cited for retrenchments was business restructuring and reorganisation. The rise affected mainly production and related workers from the electronics industry, which made up 18 per cent of the total retrenchment figure.
The ministry also said that close to 70 per cent of retrenched residents were professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), as they form a higher share of the workforce and were more prone to such job losses.
At the same time, the six-month re-entry rate among retrenched residents rose for the second consecutive quarter, from 64 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 66 per cent in the first quarter of 2019.
However, the seasonally-adjusted number of job vacancies declined from 62,300 in December 2018 to 57,100 in March 2019, the first decline after seven consecutive quarters of increase. The ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons also dipped from 1.10 to 1.08 during the same period.
“There continued to be more job vacancies than job seekers; however, the tightness may ease as the number of job vacancies declined and retrenchments rose compared to the previous quarter,” MOM said in its report.
Unemployment rates held steady, total employment grew
After inching up in the previous quarter, the seasonally adjusted overall (2.2 per cent) and resident (3 per cent) unemployment rates held steady in March 2019 as compared to December 2018. However, the citizen unemployment rate rose slightly (from 3.1 per cent in December 2018 to 3.2 per cent in March 2019).
Total employment (excluding foreign domestic workers) grew by 10,700 in the first quarter of 2019, significantly higher than the same period a year ago (400). The growth was lower than the fourth quarter of 2018 (14,700) following the end of festive season hiring.
Services was the main driver of total employment growth, while construction posted its first employment gain in three years, reflecting an increase in both public and private sector construction activities.
The seasonally adjusted resident long-term unemployment rate (LTUR) edged down from 0.8 per cent in December 2018 to 0.7 per cent in March 2019. The LTUR fell or held steady for all age groups, except for residents aged below 30.
Among job leavers aged below 30, there was an increase in the proportion who left due to dissatisfaction with their previous jobs. Such workers were more likely to invest more time to search for a better job match.
Helping S’poreans secure good jobs
Given increasing economic headwinds, MOM said it will work with Workforce Singapore (WSG) to help Singaporeans secure good jobs through the Adapt and Grow Initiative.
For career assistance, jobseekers can visit MyCareersFuture.sg or approach WSG’s Careers Connect and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (NTUC’s e2i), which offer various programmes and Career Matching Services under the Adapt and Grow initiative.
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