Singapore resident employment rose by 43,200 to 2.34 million in September 2020, slightly below the September 2019 figure of 2.35 million, according to the Labour Market Report (LMR) for the third quarter of 2020.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) shared these findings on 17 December 2020 at a virtual media briefing.
On the other hand, non-resident employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, contracted by 72,300 in Q3, at a faster pace than the previous two quarters. Non-residents made up almost nine in ten of the total employment contraction in the first three quarters of 2020.
In total employment for Q3, there was a contraction of 29,100, a strong rebound from the contraction of 103,800 in Q2.
According to MOM Permanent Secretary (Manpower) Aubeck Kam: “The findings in this LMR are aligned with what we observed earlier in the Labour Market Advance Release – that the labour market has showed signs of improvement.”
The rebound in resident employment was a result of strong support measures for local employment, including the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) and programmes under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package.
“A common theme in these measures was the importance of preserving a strong Singaporean core across all industries at every level,” said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo in response to the report.
Nearly 60,000 jobseekers have been placed in jobs, traineeships, attachment and training opportunities under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package from April to October this year.
Of these job placements, there was a good mix of PMET and non-PMET roles, with 6 in 10 in long-term positions.
The Government has also introduced the $1 billion Jobs Growth Incentive which provides up to 50 per cent salary support for eligible new local hires from September 2020 to February 2021.
Other indicators in the LMR reflected a gradual pick up in the labour market activity:
“Looking ahead, uncertainties in the economic environment and weak demand conditions will continue to weigh on the recovery of labour market.
“COVID-19 has also accelerated the pace of business transformation and we have to prepare that unlike cyclical downturns, some jobs may not return. As such, labour market recovery may continue well beyond the immediate rebound but may remain protracted,” said Mr Kam.
Mrs Teo added: “There is still a lot of work to do. While we are on a fairly sound footing, this is not the time to celebrate. We want to redouble our efforts and help as many employers and jobseekers to make that transition, and emerge stronger.”
The full “Labour Market Report, Third Quarter 2020” and technical notes on the various indicators are available here.
