Singapore is beginning to feel the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market.
Total employment in Singapore (excluding foreign domestic workers) has registered its sharpest quarterly contraction on record; unemployment rate and retrenchments have risen; more workers have been placed on short workweeks or temporary layoff; job vacancies have declined in some sectors.
The Manpower Ministry (MOM) gave the update in its 1Q 2020 labour market report on 15 June 2020.
Total employment (excluding foreign domestic workers) fell by 25,600 in 1Q 2020. The contraction is the sharpest quarterly contraction on record due to a significant fall in foreign employment, according to MOM.
Local employment also contracted slightly, as employment in trade- and tourism-related sectors declined faster than the employment increase in financial and insurance services, public administration and education and professional services.
Overall unemployment rates also rose from December 2019 to March 2020 – 2.3 per cent to 2.4 per cent. The figure was, however, was still lower than the previous highs during SARS and the Global Financial Crisis.
Retrenchment numbers also rose but remained lower than previous downturns.
Retrenchments in 1Q 2020 (3,220) were significantly lower than the peak during the Global Financial Crisis 1Q 2009 (12,760). The figures were like that of the 1Q 2019 (3,230).
In 1Q 2020, some 4,190 employees were placed on short workweeks or temporary layoff. This was a fivefold increase compared to the 4Q 2019, which stood at 840. The number was still below the high registered during the Global Financial Crisis, which stood at 26,530 in 1Q 2009.
The seasonally-adjusted number of job vacancies had also declined to its lowest since September 2010 – 46,300 and 44,900 respectively.
Declines over the quarter were most notable in F&B, arts, entertainment and recreation.
Coupled with a rise in unemployed persons, the seasonally-adjusted ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons fell to a decade low of 0.71 in March 2020. This means for every 10 persons looking for a job, there are about seven job vacancies.
The number was still lower than during the SARS period and the Global Financial Crises, which saw only three job vacancies for every 10 persons looking for a job.
“Labour market conditions are likely to worsen in the upcoming quarter, given the sharp fall in hiring demand globally as well as in Singapore due to circuit breaker measures. This is reflected in the decline in the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons,” said MOM.
MOM added that job seekers who require employment assistance can approach Workforce Singapore’s (WSG) Careers Connect and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) career centres.
In a Facebook post, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay said that although these figures are still above the troughs during SARS and the Global Financial Crisis, his biggest concern is that the first quarter’s labour market does not yet fully reflect the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic and two months of the circuit breaker.
“Although many unionised companies are tapping on the various government support schemes and training funding to cut costs and save jobs, I am aware that many non-unionised companies are starting to feel the heat and planning to take or have taken resolute actions to manage excess manpower including becoming insolvent. We should pay close watch to the Q2 report and also in the second half of the year when the effects of the Jobs Support Scheme are gradually tapered down. I do expect both retrenchment and unemployment to increase over the remaining quarters of 2020,” he added.
To help match at-risk or displaced workers into new job roles, NTUC has also set up the NTUC Job Security Council, which represents more than 7000 companies.
“While we address these immediate job needs, we must not keep our eye off longer-term transformation. To emerge stronger post-COVID-19, companies can undergo operations and technology road mapping through the company training committees [CTCs] to transform their businesses and identify new growth areas. The CTCs will support companies in identifying new roles and curating relevant training for workers,” said Mr Tay.
