Amid a softer economy, unemployment edged up among residents and citizens in the third quarter, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Thursday (Oct 29).
The ministry said the overall seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged over the quarter at 2 per cent. Among residents, unemployment rose from 2.8 per cent to 3 per cent. It inched up from 2.9 per cent to 3.1 per cent among citizens.
Overall employment grew by 16,400 in the third quarter, faster than in the last quarter (9,700), as a result of growth in services and construction. However, taken as a whole, employment growth in the first three quarters of 2015 has moderated compared to a year ago, said MOM.
There were 3.644 million people employed in September, 1.7 per cent higher than a year ago, compared to 2.2 per cent in June 2015.
Layoffs declined for the third consecutive quarter. About 2,900 workers were laid off, down from 3,250 in the preceding quarter.
“MOM and the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) stand ready to help displaced local workers to re-skill and upgrade so that they are able to take on new jobs,” the ministry said.
news source & image credits: channelnewsasia.com
