(SINGAPORE) The buoyant job market spelt far better hiring prospects last year for retrenched workers - notably white collar executives, and even those above 40.

A spate of large-scale electronics industry layoffs led to a 20 per cent jump in the number of retrenched workers in 2006 to 12,360. But the re-employment rate improved to a nine-year high, across the board for all occupational, age and educational groups, according to a Ministry of Manpower report.

On average, two out of three retrenched residents, or 66 per cent, found jobs again within six months in 2006 - up from 61 per cent in 2005, and the highest re-employment rate since the Asian crisis.

And 77 per cent of those who were laid off in the first nine months of 2006 were re-employed by December, the ministry says. Of these, 67 per cent took up to one month to secure a new job.

The re-employment figures, based on Central Provident Fund records, do not capture retrenched workers who become self-employed or find some form of 'informal employment'.

Notably, PMETs - professionals, managers, executives and technicians, who in previous years had lagged other groups in securing re-employment - appear to have had the best prospects last year.

For once, their 73 per cent re-hire rate in 2006 surpassed that of clerks, sales and services workers, who recorded 70 per cent.

The PMETs' 73 per cent re-employment rate - up from 65 per cent in 2005 - is also a post-crisis high. And the rates for both young (below-40) and old PMETs - 76 and 69 per cent respectively - exceed the national average.

Most of the retrenched PMETs were in their 30s or 40s, younger than those laid off from the other job groups. And more than half of them came from the manufacturing sector.

Notably, too, the age group that saw the biggest improvement in re-employment last year is the over-50 set - their re-hire rate rose to 59 per cent, from 52 per cent in 2005.

While the younger age groups still see higher re-employment rates, the gap has narrowed in the past two years.

In all, roughly 10 in 1,000 employees were retrenched last year, up slightly from 9.3 per 1,000 in 2005. But it is still down 'substantially' from the last peak of 25 per 1,000 during the 2001 economic downturn, the ministry points out.

The electronics industry accounted for more than half (52 per cent) of all workers laid off from 523 companies last year. Reflecting the higher manufacturing layoffs involving mainly blue-collar employees, retrenchment among production and related workers rose for the second straight year to 15 per 1,000 in 2006.

The MOM survey also found an increased incidence of repeat retrenchments - 0.7 per cent of those laid off in 2005 lost their jobs again last year, typically after 11 months. This is up from 0.3 per cent in each of the preceding three years.

And structural unemployment remains a concern: According to MOM, the less educated without secondary qualifications remain 'the most vulnerable' with high risk of retrenchment and below-average re-employment rates.

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