Riding on the the healthy economy, Singapore's employment market continue to grow strongly, with 48,000 jobs added in the first quarter of 2007.
The preliminary estimates released by the Ministry of Manpower today showed higher gains compared to the 45,000 jobs created in the same period a year ago, but Q107 gains were lower than the previous quarter's 51,500.
All major sectors added workers. The services sector added the most jobs with 33,400 created. Manufacturing posted increases in employment of 9,500. Construction also increased its workforce by 5,000, aided by the pickup in building activities, which continued the uptrend started two years ago.
Retrenchment
Preliminary findings show that 1,800 workers were retrenched in the first quarter of 2007, lower than the 3,215 retrenched in the previous quarter and 3,653 in the same quarter a year ago.
Manufacturing saw the heaviest retrenchment, with 1,300 jobs lost, due to the on-going restructuring in the electronics industry. The services industries also laid off 500 workers.
Unemployment
The seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate was 2.9 per cent in March 2007, up from 2.6 per cent in December 2006. Seasonally-adjusted resident unemployment rate also rose to 4 per cent in March 2007 from 3.6 per cent in December 2006. According to the ministry, "the rise in unemployment rate reflects more people entering the labour market, on the back of favourable economic conditions".
As of March 2007, 66,000 residents were estimated to be unemployed. The seasonally adjusted figure was 77,000.
A more detailed breakdown of the preliminary estimates will be released in the Economic Survey of Singapore, First Quarter 2007. The preliminary data estimates are also available at the Ministry of Manpower's website.
