SINGAPORE'S job scene looks rosy with more employed and average monthly earnings up.

The employment rate was up in the second quarter at a high of 64,400, up significantly from 49,400 in the first quarter and 36,400 in the same quarter last year.

For the first half of the year, employment growth stood at 113,800 compared to 81,500 for the same period last year.

'With sustained strong economic growth, employment creation hit an unprecedented high. At the same time, there was a significant fall in unemployment,' the Manpower Ministry (MOM) said on Friday.

With the rise in employment, average monthly earnings have also moved up based on Central Provident Fund (CPF) records, the MOM said. Earnings for the second quarter increased by 8.5 per cent up from 5.5 per cent growth in the first quarter. Real earnings was up by 7.5 per cent and 5 per cent.

'The increase was the highest registered since the last economic boom in 2000 when earnings rose by 8.9 per cent on nominal and 7.5 per cent in real terms,' MOM said.

It said the robust output growth slightly outpaced the strong employment expansion and labour productivity rose marginally by 0.4 per cent over the year in the second quarter, ending the decline in the two preceding quarters of -1.3 per cent in the first quarter and -0.7 per cent in the last quarter of 2006.

'Cost pressures continued to rise but at a more moderated pace as productivity improved slightly after declining in the preceding two quarters,' the MOM said.

In tandem with the uptrend in employment, unemployment rate fell to a seasonally adjusted 2.3 per cent in the second quarter, lower than the previous quarter of 2.4 per cent. Resident unemployment for the same period dipped 0.9 percentage points from 4 per cent, with an estimated 60,200 unemployed.

There were fewer unemployed residents, with the number down by 4,500 to 12,100 from a year ago, making up 0.6 per cent of the resident labour force, lower than 0.9 per cent registered last year. A lower number was also in search for work for 25 weeks or more compared to the previous quarter.

Comparatively, retrenchment was low with 1,918 retrenched in the second quarter, marginally lower than 1,964 in the previous quarter and markedly lower than 3,263 in the same period last year.

Among residents retrenched in the first quarter, CPF records show that 70 per cent were re-employed within six months after retrenchment, the MOM said. This is an improvement from 59 per cent in the first quarter and 69 per cent in the second quarter last year.

Job vacancies also rose to 37,400, 16 per cent more than a quarter ago. Year-on-year, the openings registered a gain of 18 per cent.

» MOM's press release