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SINGAPORE-UNEMPLOYMENT-RATE
Singapore records slightly higher unemployment rate in September
SINGAPORE, Oct. 27, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower
announced on Friday that the country’s seasonally adjusted overall
unemployment rate grew to 2.1 percent in September, comparing to 2 percent in
June.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for residents stayed unchanged at 2.9
percent, and that for citizens remained at 3 percent, according to the
advance release of the Labour Market Report for the third quarter of 2018.
Despite the rise in unemployment rate, Singapore actually witnessed a
pick-up in employment growth in the third quarter, as the total employment,
excluding Foreign Domestic Workers, increased by 15,200 in the three months,
comparing to the employment growth of 6,500 in the second quarter.
Given the growth in employment, the slightly elevated unemployment rates
reflected the continued inflow of job seekers into the labor market, the
ministry said in the report.
It added that the data suggests Singapore’s labor market continued to
improve in the third quarter, but it might bring bigger challenges to
employers to fill vacancies. The ministry also emphasized the importance for
Singaporean workers and businesses to be agile and responsive to market
demands, to better deal with the ongoing economic restructuring and the
changing demand for jobs.
Statistics show Singapore recorded 3,657,000 of total labor force in 2017,
in which 2,269,700 were resident labor force.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1425