SINGAPORE: After a previous drop, resident employment rose again as Singapore's labour market continued to expand in the third quarter of 2024, according to the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) latest report released on Monday (Dec 9).
This increase comes amid an overall expansion in employment, driven largely by non-residents.
Total employment grew by 22,300 in the third quarter, nearly double what was recorded in the preceding quarter, MOM data showed.
Resident employment grew by 4,000 - this had fallen by 600 in Q2 - while non-resident employment increased by 18,200.
“Resident employment continued to grow in outward oriented sectors such as information and communications, professional services and financial services, due in part to employment shifts from domestic-oriented sectors such as retail trade, and food and beverage services,” said MOM.
Non-resident employment was primarily driven by the growth of work permit holders in construction and manufacturing.
‘There are generally not enough resident workers in these sectors which comprise mostly blue-collar jobs (eg construction labourers),” said MOM.
While labour demand remained high in Q3, there was a decline with the number of job vacancies to 63,400 in September. This drop - there were 81,200 vacancies in June - reflected the continued downtrend from the peak of 124,400 in March 2022.
MOM attributed the drop in vacancies to the construction, transportation and storage, and manufacturing sectors, where more lower skilled jobs were filled by work permit holders.
The ministry, however, noted that there remains more job openings than the number of unemployed people, with a ratio of 1.39 in September. The start of year-end festivities is expected to give a further boost to labour demand, it added.
Unemployment rates continued to fall in September (1.9 per cent overall, 2.6 per cent for residents and 2.7 per cent for citizens), while the resident long-term unemployment rate remained unchanged at 0.8 per cent, just like the past two quarters.
Retrenchments fell to 3,050 in Q3 from 3,270 in the previous quarter, with an overall of 1.4 retrenched per 1,000 employees.
“Similar to the trends observed for retrenchments, the number of workers placed on short work-week or temporary layoffs also stayed low at 480, reflecting the overall positive business sentiments and confidence,” said MOM.
The resident rate of re-entry to the workforce within six months of retrenchment also increased to 60.4 per cent in Q3 from a low of 55 per cent in Q2.
“Post-pandemic, employers might have filled up vacancies more adequately,” said MOM.
“More workers were staying on in their current jobs, observed by the gradual decline in resignation rate from 1.7 per cent in 2022 and 1.8 per cent in 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 1.3 per cent in Q3 2024."
It added that hirings were more for new posts, with recruitment rate of 1.9 per cent in the third quarter higher than the resignation rate of 1.3 per cent.
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) last month upgraded its economic growth forecast for 2024 to around 3.5 per cent, which is above the range of its previous prediction.
MOM also noted that for 2025, MTI forecast the economy to grow by 1 per cent to 3 per cent in 2025, as the growth outlook of manufacturing and outward-oriented service sectors remains positive.
Against this backdrop, it said on Monday it expects the labour market expansion to be sustained, with wages and employment continuing to grow in tandem with economic growth.
The labour market is also expected to stay tight with low unemployment, althought that tightness could gradually ease as more job openings are filled and the number of job vacancies adjust towards pre-pandemic levels.
“Overall, we expect labour market performance in 2024 to be stronger compared to 2023,” said MOM.
Resident employment growth is expected to moderate in the longer-term, given Singapore’s high labour force participation rate and slowing resident workforce growth.
“Hence, complementing our local workforce with skilled foreign workers is essential to sustain Singapore economic competitiveness and growth, so as to create more opportunities for locals,” said MOM.
Resident Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET) employment grew by 382,000 over the last decade, while the number of Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass holders grew by 38,000, the ministry added.
Even in sectors that hire the most EP holders, such as financial and insurance services, professional services, and information and communications, local PMET employment still increased by 172,200, while EP and S Pass holders increased by 17,000.
“The government will continue to invest heavily in Singaporeans to enable them to compete strongly amidst continuous economic transformation and prevailing global uncertainties,” said MOM.
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This increase comes amid an overall expansion in employment, driven largely by non-residents.
Total employment grew by 22,300 in the third quarter, nearly double what was recorded in the preceding quarter, MOM data showed.
Resident employment grew by 4,000 - this had fallen by 600 in Q2 - while non-resident employment increased by 18,200.
“Resident employment continued to grow in outward oriented sectors such as information and communications, professional services and financial services, due in part to employment shifts from domestic-oriented sectors such as retail trade, and food and beverage services,” said MOM.
Non-resident employment was primarily driven by the growth of work permit holders in construction and manufacturing.
‘There are generally not enough resident workers in these sectors which comprise mostly blue-collar jobs (eg construction labourers),” said MOM.
Related:
JOB VACANCIES AND RETRENCHMENT
While labour demand remained high in Q3, there was a decline with the number of job vacancies to 63,400 in September. This drop - there were 81,200 vacancies in June - reflected the continued downtrend from the peak of 124,400 in March 2022.
MOM attributed the drop in vacancies to the construction, transportation and storage, and manufacturing sectors, where more lower skilled jobs were filled by work permit holders.
The ministry, however, noted that there remains more job openings than the number of unemployed people, with a ratio of 1.39 in September. The start of year-end festivities is expected to give a further boost to labour demand, it added.
Unemployment rates continued to fall in September (1.9 per cent overall, 2.6 per cent for residents and 2.7 per cent for citizens), while the resident long-term unemployment rate remained unchanged at 0.8 per cent, just like the past two quarters.
Retrenchments fell to 3,050 in Q3 from 3,270 in the previous quarter, with an overall of 1.4 retrenched per 1,000 employees.
“Similar to the trends observed for retrenchments, the number of workers placed on short work-week or temporary layoffs also stayed low at 480, reflecting the overall positive business sentiments and confidence,” said MOM.
The resident rate of re-entry to the workforce within six months of retrenchment also increased to 60.4 per cent in Q3 from a low of 55 per cent in Q2.
“Post-pandemic, employers might have filled up vacancies more adequately,” said MOM.
“More workers were staying on in their current jobs, observed by the gradual decline in resignation rate from 1.7 per cent in 2022 and 1.8 per cent in 2019 (pre-pandemic) to 1.3 per cent in Q3 2024."
It added that hirings were more for new posts, with recruitment rate of 1.9 per cent in the third quarter higher than the resignation rate of 1.3 per cent.
Related:
POSITIVE OUTLOOK
The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) last month upgraded its economic growth forecast for 2024 to around 3.5 per cent, which is above the range of its previous prediction.
MOM also noted that for 2025, MTI forecast the economy to grow by 1 per cent to 3 per cent in 2025, as the growth outlook of manufacturing and outward-oriented service sectors remains positive.
Against this backdrop, it said on Monday it expects the labour market expansion to be sustained, with wages and employment continuing to grow in tandem with economic growth.
The labour market is also expected to stay tight with low unemployment, althought that tightness could gradually ease as more job openings are filled and the number of job vacancies adjust towards pre-pandemic levels.
“Overall, we expect labour market performance in 2024 to be stronger compared to 2023,” said MOM.
Resident employment growth is expected to moderate in the longer-term, given Singapore’s high labour force participation rate and slowing resident workforce growth.
“Hence, complementing our local workforce with skilled foreign workers is essential to sustain Singapore economic competitiveness and growth, so as to create more opportunities for locals,” said MOM.
Resident Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET) employment grew by 382,000 over the last decade, while the number of Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass holders grew by 38,000, the ministry added.
Even in sectors that hire the most EP holders, such as financial and insurance services, professional services, and information and communications, local PMET employment still increased by 172,200, while EP and S Pass holders increased by 17,000.
“The government will continue to invest heavily in Singaporeans to enable them to compete strongly amidst continuous economic transformation and prevailing global uncertainties,” said MOM.
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