Unemployment rate dipped in February in Singapore

Unemployment rate dipped in February in Singapore

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Singaporeans and permanent residents – unemployment rate in February fell from 4.3 percent to 4.1 percent.

For citizens, the unemployment rate in February fell from 4.5 per cent to 4.3 per cent. 

According to the MOM report, 96,800 residents were unemployed in February, including 85,900 citizens. 

“Although the unemployment rates remain elevated and have not yet returned to pre-COVID levels.

We are seeing good progress with jobs growth,” said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo in a Facebook post on Wednesday. 

She added that the ministry recently made Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) payouts to 27,000 employers who collectively hired 130,000 locals in the first three months the scheme was implemented. 

The JGI is a wage subsidy scheme that encourages companies to hire more Singaporeans and permanent residents.

It was first announced in August last year and meant to last for five months, before being given an additional S$5.2 billion boost in Budget 2021 and extended until September.

“It is encouraging to see that Government support for employers to expand local hiring has nudged them to consider a more diverse group of job seekers.

This includes those from different sectors, those who were previously not employed, and those aged 40 and above,” Mrs Teo said.

She also warned that with every dip in the unemployment rate, the next drop will “likely be harder to achieve”.

Singapore’s total employment saw its sharpest fall in more than 20 years in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the economy and a “circuit breaker” forced many businesses to suspend operations in April and May.

Resident unemployment rate hit 4.8 per cent in September last year and the overall unemployment rate that month was 3.5 per cent. 

MOM has been releasing monthly unemployment figures since July 2020. Previously, the rates were published quarterly. 

Source: Channel News Asia – Business Singapore

Malaysia unemployment rate rose to 4.5%

Malaysia unemployment rate rose to 4.5%

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Labor force survey conducted by the government showed that the unemployment rate for 2020 rise to a record level of 4.5% due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

“The unemployment rate rose to 4.5% in 2020, the highest rate recorded since 1993 (4.1%),” chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin (pic below) said in a press statement yesterday.

The Statistics Department said the health crisis had a huge impact on the labor force which led to the unemployment rate moving above 4% compared to an average of 3% pre-Covid-19 pandemic.

Compared to the previous quarter, the fourth quarter 2020 showed that the number of the unemployed rate increased 0.1 percentage point from 4.7%.

In December 2020, unemployment rose to 772,900 persons at an unemployment rate of 4.8%.

The labor market condition in December 2020 which was still influenced by the health crisis and economic consequences has caused slower recovery momentum in the labor market, the Statistics Department said.

“In the fourth quarter of 2020, there were 533,7000 persons who worked less than 30 hours per week due to working conditions or insufficient work compared to the third quarter at 403,800 persons.

Out of this total, 369,100 persons were categorized as time-related underemployment since they worked less than 30hrs a week and were able and willing to work extra hours from the 3Q at 300,800 persons,” Uzir Mahidin said.

He said that this category of people comprised 2.4% of the overall employment in the fourth quarter of last year.

“In the meantime, skill-related underemployment which comprises of those with tertiary education but working in semi-skilled and low-skilled occupations accounted for 1.89 million persons or 37.4% of the total of employed persons with tertiary education which is an increase from the third quarter of 1.76 million persons or 36.8%,” he said.

Source: TheStar

Asian business man wear face mask and he is being fired because of economic downturn due to the covid-19 spread all over the world

The overall unemployment rate in Singapore rise to 3.4

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Singapore’s overall unemployment rate rose to 3.4 percent in August, climbing past the high of 3.3 percent recorded in September 2009 during the global financial crisis.

But August’s rate is lower than the highest overall unemployment rate of 4.8 percent, recorded in September 2003 during the SARS outbreak.

The latest job situation report from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (Oct 7) showed the overall unemployment rate for August climbed 0.4 percentage points from July.

MOM said it has started to track the unemployment rate monthly to “monitor the labor situation more closely”. Unemployment rates are usually released quarterly.

Overall Unemployment rate breakdown

The citizen unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent in August, up by 0.3 percentage points from July. It is lower than the 4.9 percent recorded in September 2009.

The resident unemployment rate – of citizens and permanent residents – rose to 4.5 percent in August from 4.1 percent in July, but remained lower than the 4.9 percent recorded in September 2009.

“We observe that while monthly the overall unemployment rate has so far generally remained lower than past recessionary highs, it has been gradually rising,” said the ministry in a press release. 

“It remains to be seen if unemployment will rise more quickly in the coming months,” it added.

“We cannot tell at this point, whether in the coming months the unemployment rate will uptick at a faster rate or will it stay around about the same,” said Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo.

Despite the “slight uptick” in the overall unemployment rate, jobs are still available in this same period, she noted.

“We also saw the ability to pull together more opportunities. And the vast majority of these opportunities that have been pulled together remain, still, in terms of jobs. And of the 60,000 or so long-term jobs available, a large part of it is still coming from the private sector.”

Source:

Unemployment rate increases in Singapore

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According to data from the Singapore Ministry of Manpower, the unemployment rate stood at 2.9% in June. 

The unemployment rate in Singapore increased as a result of job cuts that happened between April and Jun Manpower e due to Covid-19.

The overall unemployment rate stood at 2.9% in June, the highest in just over a decade in the city-state.

According to data published by the Ministry of Manpower, the number of Singaporean unemployed increased to 79,600 in June from 66900 in March.

In the case of permanent residents, 90,500 unemployed were registered at the end of June, compared to 76,200 in March.

The Ministry of Manpower argued that the unemployment figure increased due to the wave of layoffs in this last quarter.

The sector with the greatest impact is the wholesale trade and transportation team as a result of the low demand for retail sales and air travel.

Unemployment situation “seems to not hit bottom”

The head of the Ministry of Manpower, Josephine Teo, pointed to a situation that seems not to have hit bottom yet and that in great measure depends on the actions of companies.

“I think it is reasonable for us to adopt a more cautious attitude, and that is to expect that it hasn’t bottomed out.” said Josephine Teo.

She added that food and beverage establishments may see an increase in consumer demand in the coming months.

However, she pointed that the volumes of the crowds will not be the same as the pre-pandemic due to health security measures.

Finally, Josephine Teo said that the outlook is uncertain not only within Singapore, and that the city-state is highly connected to the global economy, which currently has low demand.