SINGAPORE: The labor market in Singapore remained tight in the first quarter of 2015, as overall unemployment rate dipped to 1.8 percent from the previous quarter’ s 1.9 percent.
Employment also contracted in the first quarter after five years of strong increases, according to the report by the Manpower Ministry’s (MOM) Manpower Research and Statistics Department released on Monday.
Unemployment rate for residents fell to 2.5 percent from Q4 2014’s 2.7 percent, while the rate for citizens hit 2.6 percent from the previous quarter’s 2.7 percent, the report revealed.
Employment contracted by 6,100 jobs in the first quarter of the year, compared to the previous quarter, reflecting “seasonal declines and sharper moderation in employment growth in sectors with less favorable business conditions,” it said.
The decline was led by manufacturing, with the workforce shrinking by 6,900 jobs, amid weak output growth in marine and offshore engineering and the completion of chemicals maintenance projects. The services sector also shrank by 4,800 jobs in retail trade and 1,800 jobs in accommodation and food services on the back of weak tourist arrivals, it added.
MOM said the contraction in employment may be reflective of how segments of the economy could be transiting to be less reliant on manpower, and that further growth in the local labor force is expected to be limited, given the gains in labor force participation already achieved in recent years.
“Nevertheless, as the data is only representative of a single quarter, the employment numbers will need to be monitored over subsequent quarters to obtain a fuller picture,” it added.
