Table 1.1: Employment

(In Thousands)

 Table 1.2: Employment (Annual)

                                                                                         (In Thousands)

	Employment Change							Employment Level as at Dec 07 p
	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007p
Total	-0.1	-22.9	-12.9	71.4	113.3	176.0	236.6	2,732.5
Local	1.3	19.4	14.9	49.9	63.5	90.9	92.1	1,831.7
Foreign	-1.4	-42.3	-27.9	21.5	49.8	85.1	144.5	900.8

^P:       ^P:  Preliminary estimates
Locals also known as residents refer to Singapore citizens and permanent residents

Data may not add up due to rounding

 

Retrenchment

Preliminary findings show that 1,500 workers were retrenched in the fourth quarter of 2007, lower than the 1,827 retrenched in the previous quarter and only around half the 3,215 retrenched in the same quarter a year ago.

 

Of every ten workers retrenched in the quarter, six were from the manufacturing sector (900), reflecting the on-going restructuring in the electronics industry. The remaining four were laid off from the services sector (600). 
                        

Table 2.1: Retrenchment (Quarterly)

 ^P: Preliminary estimates

Retrenchment is at its lowest in 14 years. For the whole of 2007, 7,200 workers were retrenched, substantially lower than 12,603 in 2006. Manufacturing formed the bulk of retrenchments (4,900), followed by services (2,300).

Table 2.2: Retrenchment (Annual)

Unemployment 

Supported by robust job creation, the unemployment rate dropped to a decade low, comparable to pre-Asian crisis levels. The seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate dipped further to 1.6% in December 2007 from 1.7% in September 2007. The resident unemployment rate remained at a low of 2.3%, unchanged from a quarter ago.

An estimated 45,200 residents were unemployed in December 2007. The seasonally adjusted figure was 45,600.

Table 3.1: Unemployment Rate (Quarterly)

^P: Preliminary estimates

For the whole year of 2007, overall unemployment rate averaged 2.1%, down significantly from 2.7% in 2006 and 3.1% in 2005. Similarly, the resident unemployment rate fell to 3.0% in 2007 from 3.6% in 2006 and 4.1% in 2005. Both the overall and resident unemployment rates in 2007 are at their lowest in a decade. On average, 56,900 residents were unemployed in 2007, down from 67,600 in 2006 and the high of 91,200 in 2003.

Table 3.2: Unemployment Rate (Annual)

   ^P: Preliminary estimates

Annual figures are the simple averages of the unemployment figures obtained at quarterly intervals.

For More Information

Information on data sources and coverage, as well as definitions of key concepts used in the report is in the attached Explanatory Notes. The preliminary data estimates are available online at the Ministry of Manpower's website. A more detailed breakdown of the preliminary estimates will be released in the Economic Survey of Singapore, 2007.

The above is a statistical release of the Manpower

Research and Statistics Department of the Ministry.

Upcoming Publications

The Ministry's Manpower Research and Statistics Department will be releasing the report on the Labour Market, 2007 on 14 March 2008.