ZCZC
BCN-18
SINGAPORE-UNEMPLOYMENT-RATE
Singapore’s resident unemployment rate rises in Q2
SINGAPORE, July 28, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower
announced on Friday that preliminary data showed the city-state’s total
employment grew in the second quarter of 2018 even as unemployment rates
edged upwards.
It said in the Labour Market Advance Release that the seasonally adjusted
overall unemployment rate increased from 2 percent in March 2018 to 2.1
percent in June 2018, the resident unemployment rate grew from 2.8 percent to
3 percent, and the citizen unemployment rate grew from 3 percent to 3.1
percent.
The ministry said the increases of the three indicators happened after a
general downtrend since June 2017, but the rates this June remained lower
than in year-earlier. It attributes the rebound of unemployment rates to the
fact that more persons entered the labour force to look for work on the back
of continued expansion in economic activities.
According to the Labour Market Advance Release, Singapore’s total
employment, excluding Foreign Domestic Workers, increased by 7,100 in the
second quarter, compared to the increase of 400 in the first quarter of 2018
and the decrease of 7,900 in the second quarter of 2017. The change reflects
the moderated pace of contractions in construction and manufacturing
employment, and is also a result of the continued increase of workers in the
services sectors, such as in transportation and storage, information and
communications, community, social and personal services, professional
Services and financial and insurance.
Looking forward, it would be increasingly important for workers and
businesses to stay agile and responsive to emerging technological trends,
economic restructuring and the evolving workforce landscape, the ministry
added.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1120