by Daryll Nanayakara

OVER 200,000 people found jobs last year, even as a record number of people lost their jobs in the last quarter.

The latest figures from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed that total employment rose by 221,600 - or 8.1 per cent - last year.

The figure, however, was buoyed by strong gains in the earlier part of that year.

The second half of the year saw a steep drop in employment figures, with a mere 21,300 people employed between October and December - less than half the number reported in the third quarter of the year.

Still, industries such as health, social services, architecture, engineering, education and public administration recorded similar or higher gains, compared to 2007.

The manufacturing industry bore the brunt of the slowdown, with 7,000 workers losing their jobs.

Other industries that took a hit included the electronics and transportequipment sectors, with 3,400 and 2,700 workers being axed, respectively.

MOM said that, in all, 23,330 workers were either made redundant or retrenched last year, while another 2,970 had their contracts terminated prematurely.

According toMr Irvin Seah, an economist with DBS Bank, the country's unemployment rate could go up to 4 per cent by the later part of this year.

Mr Seah also predicted that the unemployment rate could hit the 5 per cent mark by the middle of next year if the economy did not pick up.

That figure would work out to 99,000 residents being left jobless due to the recession.

Earlier this month, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew brought up the possibility of the economy shrinking by 10 per cent if there were a continued slump in exports.

But despite the bleak outlook, MM Lee said that even if Singapore's economy "goes down precipitously, it will go up precipitously".

darylldj@sph.com.sg

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