THE proportion of residents here who are employed fell for the first time in six years, because of the financial crisis.

The proportion of those aged 25 to 64 who had a job fell to 75.8 per cent in June this year, from a peak of 77 per cent a year ago, an annual survey by the Ministry of Manpower found.

This was largely due to job losses suffered by those in the group with the prime working ages of between 25 and 54, the ministry said yesterday.

Despite the downturn, the employment rate of older residents aged between 55 and 64 remained at the record high of 57.2 per cent reached last year.

Overall, 5.9 per cent of residents were jobless this June, up from 4 per cent a year ago.

The weak economy also meant that income for those who held down jobs has stayed largely flat this year, after strong gains in the previous two years.

The median monthly income among full-time workers rose slightly by 0.5 per cent to $2,600 in June this year, from $2,590 a year ago.

Part-time workers' median income rose from $600 to $620 during the same period.

But that for all employed residents dipped by 1.2 per cent, from $2,450 to $2,420 in the same period, as more people were hired part-time this year, the ministry said.

The number of contract workers grew by 4.3 per cent over a year to reach 197,000 in June this year, continuing a rising trend noted since 2006.

This growth rate exceeded the 0.8 per cent increase in the number of permanent employees in the same period.

This reflected the economic uncertainty, the ministry said.

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