The Ministry of Manpower has reported that the employment rate in Singapore remained “low and steady” in the third quarter even though companies here have been undergoing business restructuring, laying off more workers than usual.
The overall unemployment rate dropped by a minimal 0.1 percent from 2 percent in the second quarter. Unemployment rates among residents and citizens were 2.8 percent and 2.9 percent respectively.
3,400 workers were dismissed in the latest quarter – a 41 percent increase from the previous quarter.
More than half of the layoffs came from the services sector.
Despite remaining largely unchanged from the previous quarter, the overall employment growth in the third quarter – 27,100 – still falls short of the 33,100 clocked in last year.
The ministry said the total employment in September 2014 is 3,577,000, “which was 3.6 percent higher than a year ago but lower than the 3.8 percent in June 2014.”
Photo: AFP
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