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Employment |
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Preliminary estimates show that
employment grew by a strong 66,200 in 2004, more than recovering the job
losses totalling 35,900 over the preceding three years. This brings the total
number of persons employed to a new high of 2,201,300 as at December 2004. |
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The growth was achieved on the
back of robust quarterly gains which peaked at 27,500 in the fourth quarter
2004. This was the strongest quarterly performance in four years. |
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Supported by seasonal hirings for
the year-end festivities, the services-producing industries added 23,300
workers in the fourth quarter, bringing the employment gains in services in
the whole of 2004 to 49,900. This accounted for three-quarters of the total
employment gains in the year. |
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Manufacturing employment rose more
modestly by 5,700 in the fourth quarter 2004. However, boosted by higher gains
earlier in the year, manufacturing employment grew by a robust 26,700 in 2004,
erasing the losses of the preceding three years. Construction employment
continued to decline in 2004 (-9,100), but at a considerably slower pace than
before. |
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Retrenchment |
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Preliminary findings from a survey
of private sector establishments each with at least 25 employees show that
2,900 workers were retrenched in the fourth quarter of 2004. This was an
increase of 47% from the previous quarter’s low of 1,967, but was
significantly less than the quarterly average of over 4,000 retrenched during
the three years prior to 2004. |
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A total of 9,900 workers were retrenched in the
whole of 2004, a marked decline of 40% from 16,400 in 2003. The
services-producing industries made up one-half of the workers laid off in
2004. Another 44% were contributed by manufacturing and 6% by construction and
other industries. |
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Unemployment |
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Reflecting the strong employment
creation, the year ended with a seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate
of 3.7% in December 2004, significantly lower than 4.6% a year ago. For the
resident1 labour force, the corresponding rate was 4.0% compared
with 5.0%. |
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Riding on the strong growth
momentum in the first half of 2004, December’s unemployment at 3.7% was
broadly stable from a revised 3.6% in September, despite the moderation in
economic growth in the second half. |
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On a non-seasonally adjusted
basis, the overall unemployment rate rose from 3.1% in September 2004 to 3.9%
in December 2004, due to students looking for vacation jobs and the entry of
school leavers into the labour force during year-end. Among the resident
labour force, the non-adjusted unemployment rate was 4.3%. An estimated 78,600
residents were unemployed in December 2004. The seasonally adjusted figure was
71,800. |
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1 Comprises
Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents |
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For more information |
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The concepts, definitions and
sources of the data are contained in the attached Explanatory Notes. The
preliminary data estimates are available online at the Ministry of Manpower’s
website:
http://www.mom.gov.sg/mrsd/publication. A more detailed breakdown of the
preliminary estimates will be released in mid-February 2005 in the Economic
Survey of Singapore. |
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More.....(Tables) |
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Source:
Ministry of Manpower Press Release 31 Jan
2005 |
Employment situation in 4th Quarter 2004
