by Sue-Ann Chia

THE job market shows signs of improvement but for one surprise blip: The number of jobs wiped out between April and June this year has doubled to 12,400.

With this increase, Singapore is facing for the first time a situation it last encountered in the 2003 recession: a drop in employment level for two quarters in a row.

In all, Singapore lost 18,800 jobs in the first half of this year, according to preliminary employment figures released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday.

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