Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has released the figures on the economy’s performance for the first three months of 2017.
In the first quarter, the economy grew 2.7 per cent while the unemployment rate was 2.3 per cent, slightly higher than the 2.1 per cent in the last quarter of 2016.
However, the value added per worker, which is a measure of labour productivity, recorded 2.7 per cent. It was 1 per cent in the last quarter of 2016.
Productivity Improvements
Commenting on the report, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) Patrick Tay noted that the value added per worker was showing positive signs.
Writing on his Facebook page, he said: “Notwithstanding an uncertain export environment affected by regional and global shifts, if we continue to maintain an upward positive productivity of 1 percent and better, it will auger well for our overall GDP growth for 2017 and beyond.”
Sector Performance
In the first three months of 2017, the manufacturing sector grew by 8 per cent. The sector’s growth was primarily driven by the electronics and precision engineering clusters, which expanded on the back of robust global demand for semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
However, the construction sector contracted by 1.4 per cent due to a continued weakness in private sector construction.
Another sector which saw a 1.9 per cent contraction in growth was the food services sector.
The sector’s weakness was due to the food services segment, which contracted on the back of lower sales volume in restaurants.
According to MTI, the growth forecast is maintained at 1 to 3 per cent for the whole of 2017.
Barring downside risks, GDP growth is likely to come in higher than the 2 per cent in 2016.
