SINGAPORE: Singapore's total employment grew by 23,700 in the first quarter of this year, thanks to the healthy economic expansion. This is according to preliminary estimates released by the Manpower Ministry on Friday.
Still, the increase is lower than the seasonal high of 33,900 in the fourth quarter last year and the 36,500 gains in the first quarter last year.
Last year's strong showing was supported by the strong hirings arising from the integrated resorts and the recovery from the 2009 recession.
The bulk of the employment gains in the first quarter or 22800 Jobs came from the services sector. Construction added 1,100 workers, while manufacturing employment declined by 500, lower than the contraction of 1,200 in the preceding quarter.
In the same period, some 2,600 workers were retrenched and 400 had their contracts terminated prematurely, resulting in a total of 3,000 workers made redundant. This is compared to 3,190 redundancies in the preceding quarter.
The manufacturing sector reported the largest number of redundancies affecting 1,600 workers. Services laid off 1,000 and construction displaced 400 workers.
The overall unemployment rate fell to 1.9 per cent in March 2011 from a seasonally adjusted 2.2 per cent in December 2010, reflecting the tight labour market here.
"The three-year dip in unemployment signals the tight labour market shows no signs of abating. Companies will need to ensure they have robust, planned people strategies to help deal with the strengthening market, which is proving to be the biggest human capital challenge currently facing Singapore's economy," said Ms Karin Clarke, Randstad Regional Director for Singapore & Malaysia.
Analysts said the services sector has benefited from Singapore's strong reputation as a regional centre for multinational companies - with the financial services, oil & gas and healthcare sectors pushing hiring demand.
"There will be continued competition for talent as companies seek to employ the best people to drive their business forward in 2011," said Ms Clarke.
Among the resident labour force, the unemployment rate declined to 2.7 per cent from a seasonally adjusted 3.1 per cent in the same period.
Both the overall and resident unemployment rates are the lowest in three years. An estimated 57,100 residents were unemployed in March 2011 on a seasonally adjusted basis.
-CNA/ac/cc
