SINGAPORE : Singapore experienced employment growth during the recession last year.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the labour market was more resilient than in previous downturns, supported by the Resilience Package and concerted tripartite efforts to save jobs.
The labour market rebounded quickly in the second half of last year, offsetting the job losses experienced in the first half.
Total employment grew by 37,500 in the fourth quarter alone, double the gains of 14,000 in the previous quarter.
The figure is also higher than the 21,300 in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The bulk of the employment gains came from the services sector which added 31,500 workers. This was supported by hiring for the year-end festivities and the Integrated Resorts (IRs).
For the whole of 2009, services employment rose by 55,600.
Construction added 4,600 workers in the fourth quarter, bringing its total gains to 25,100 in 2009.
Going forward, analysts said the global economic recovery is expected to continue supporting job creation in Singapore.
"Perhaps the biggest swing from last year will be in manufacturing, which saw a contraction with the slowdown in exports. And now it's rebounding together with the improved exports demand," said David Cohen, director at Action Economics.
But with improved hiring sentiments, companies will have to deal with the problem of talent retention.
"The challenge will be how do you retain these people. How are you going to make sure that the sacrifices they have put in are now being restored - the wage freeze or benefits freeze, and so on. If you don't do so quickly and properly, then you will find that people will be thinking of looking at other opportunities elsewhere, which will lead to higher attrition (rates)," said David Ang, executive director of the Singapore Human Resource Institute.
Another challenge for the labour market is the growing number of job seekers who have been looking for work for at least 25 weeks. The number of long-term unemployed jumped to 13,900 last year, up 1,000 from 2008.
But as the workforce base grew in 2009, the long-term unemployment rate remained unchanged at 0.7 per cent.
This increase numerically is something that we should pay attention to. (We should) make full use of this upturn, make full use of this productivity drive, and emphasis on retraining and upgrading, to help as many of these long-term unemployed gain employment," said Heng Chee How, Deputy Secretary-General of the Labour Movement.
Driven by strong employment growth in the fourth quarter of 2009, the overall unemployment rate improved significantly. It fell from 3.4 per cent in September to 2.1 per cent in December.
Source : By Joanne Chen, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 15 March 2010 1834 hrs
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the labour market was more resilient than in previous downturns, supported by the Resilience Package and concerted tripartite efforts to save jobs.
The labour market rebounded quickly in the second half of last year, offsetting the job losses experienced in the first half.
Total employment grew by 37,500 in the fourth quarter alone, double the gains of 14,000 in the previous quarter.
The figure is also higher than the 21,300 in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The bulk of the employment gains came from the services sector which added 31,500 workers. This was supported by hiring for the year-end festivities and the Integrated Resorts (IRs).
For the whole of 2009, services employment rose by 55,600.
Construction added 4,600 workers in the fourth quarter, bringing its total gains to 25,100 in 2009.
Going forward, analysts said the global economic recovery is expected to continue supporting job creation in Singapore.
"Perhaps the biggest swing from last year will be in manufacturing, which saw a contraction with the slowdown in exports. And now it's rebounding together with the improved exports demand," said David Cohen, director at Action Economics.
But with improved hiring sentiments, companies will have to deal with the problem of talent retention.
"The challenge will be how do you retain these people. How are you going to make sure that the sacrifices they have put in are now being restored - the wage freeze or benefits freeze, and so on. If you don't do so quickly and properly, then you will find that people will be thinking of looking at other opportunities elsewhere, which will lead to higher attrition (rates)," said David Ang, executive director of the Singapore Human Resource Institute.
Another challenge for the labour market is the growing number of job seekers who have been looking for work for at least 25 weeks. The number of long-term unemployed jumped to 13,900 last year, up 1,000 from 2008.
But as the workforce base grew in 2009, the long-term unemployment rate remained unchanged at 0.7 per cent.
This increase numerically is something that we should pay attention to. (We should) make full use of this upturn, make full use of this productivity drive, and emphasis on retraining and upgrading, to help as many of these long-term unemployed gain employment," said Heng Chee How, Deputy Secretary-General of the Labour Movement.
Driven by strong employment growth in the fourth quarter of 2009, the overall unemployment rate improved significantly. It fell from 3.4 per cent in September to 2.1 per cent in December.
Source : By Joanne Chen, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 15 March 2010 1834 hrs
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