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The Ministry of Manpower’s Research and Statistics
Department recently released report on “Retrenchment & Re-Employment, 2004”
showed that manufacturing employees were the most vulnerable to retrenchment.
14 per 1,000 manufacturing employees were laid off, compared to 8.5 for
services employees in 2004. |
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However, driven by rapid globalisation and
advances in info-communication technology, the difference in retrenchments has
narrowed between workers in the manufacturing and services sectors. |
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Similarly, the difference in the incidence of
retrenchments among the major occupational groups has also narrowed in recent
years. This was mainly due to the rising incidence of retrenchments among
professionals, managers, executives and technicians, which outstripped that of
the lower skilled workers for two consecutive years before dipping below that
of production and related workers in 2004. |
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Bolstered by the robust economic recovery in 2004,
layoffs were lowest in seven years, comparable to levels before the Asian
financial crisis. The percentage of employees retrenched due mainly to a
recession or downturn in the industry dropped to only 9.7% from 19% in 2003. |
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The majority, or three in five, of the workers
were laid off due mainly to reorganisation and restructuring. In the year
before, the corresponding figure was one in two. |
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Workers aged below 30 were the most re-employable
with 74% of them finding jobs within six months of their retrenchment in 2004.
Re-employment declined with increasing age and for those with lower
educational qualifications. Those without secondary qualifications had an
annual average re-employment rate of only 55%. Mature tertiary-educated
workers also faced difficulties with re-employment, with degree holders aged
50 and over facing the lowest re-employment rate of 37%. |
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Compared with 2003, the re-employment of the
retrenched workers only improved for the younger cohorts as mature workers
especially those aged 50 and above continued to face difficulties. |
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The expected slowdown in economic growth in 2005
might potentially exert upward pressures on retrenchment, amid on-going
restructuring and reorganisation. It is therefore important for wage systems
to be flexible so that quick wage adjustments could be made according to
changes in business conditions to help minimise job losses. |
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For more Information |
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The report is available online at the Ministry of
Manpower’s website at
http://www.mom.gov.sg/mrsd/publication. |
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Source:
Ministry of Manpower Press Release 18 Apr
2005 |
Retrenchment & Re-employment in 2004
