Singapore Unemployment Falls as Jobs Withstand Shrinking GDP
By Sharon Chen - Jul 31, 2012 10:57 AM GMT+0800
Singapore’s
unemployment rate unexpectedly fell last quarter as construction companies and
manufacturers increased hiring even as the economy contracted.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell to 2 percent in the three months through
June from 2.1 percent the previous quarter, the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement
today. The median estimate of nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was
for a rate of 2.2 percent. The economy added 29,200 jobs last quarter, compared
with 27,200 in the previous period.
The Southeast Asian nation’s
industrial output and exports rose more than economists estimated in June,
while sales of homes by property developers such as CapitaLand Ltd. led to a
rebound in private residential prices last quarter. The government is also
building more public housing to meet the demands of an increasing population,
holding up the island’s job market even as a faltering global recovery hurts
growth prospects from Singapore
to Taiwan.
“We do not expect a sharp
deterioration in the labor market even as the economic outlook remains dotted
with risks,” said Irvin Seah, a Singapore-based economist at DBS Group Holdings
Ltd. “There’s a healthy pipeline of public transportation and residential
projects which is supporting hiring in the construction sector.”
The services industry
added 15,500 jobs last quarter, while manufacturing companies increased
payrolls by 4,500, the report showed, citing preliminary data. Construction
employment rose 9,500 in the three months through June.
The central bank said last week
the island’s growth may fall below 1 percent should the U.S. and Chinese economies slump
and the European crisis worsen significantly. The government currently predicts
gross domestic product will increase 1 percent to 3 percent in 2012.
Singapore’s GDP fell an annualized 1.1
percent in the three months through June from the previous quarter.
Sources:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-31/singapore-unemployment-falls-as-jobs-withstand-shrinking-gdp-1-.html
