Singapore’s unemployment rates fall in June: ministry

The rate fell from 3% in May to 2.8% in June, the Singaporean Ministry of Manpower said in its Labor Market Advance Release report for the second quarter of 2024.

The number of Singaporean residents working in the growth sector, fields like finance, IT, health and social services, which usually have better salaries and job prospects, continued to rise in the second quarter. However, no specific figure has been announced by the ministry.

The ministry’s report also revealed that the rise in the number of workers in the growth sector was offset by a decrease in the number of residents working in retail trade, which led to a general decline of resident employment.

Employers often hire more temporary workers in the latter months of the year to prepare for year-end festival seasons, the ministry said.

Singapore’s employment growth was also fueled by an increase in non-resident employment, who often work in lower-skilled sectors like construction and manufacturing.

The ministry said the rise in the number of non-resident workers reflects the continued labor demand of the economy. It also found that there were 3,100 job losses in the second quarter, a slight increase from the 3,030 in the first quarter. 2,200 were in the services sector, the bulk of the figure.

The ministry said the labor market momentum is expected to be sustained in the coming quarters, as employment rates and wages continue to grow along with the economy.

Chua Han Teng, DBS bank economist, told The Straits Times Singapore’s economic expansion is expected to improve on a “sequential quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis”, which should boost employment growth in the second half of 2024.