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Singapore: Employment has continued to grow with the number of people gaining jobs in the second quarter of 2010, up by 26,500.
A release of the Manpower Ministry found that the continuing employment gains that started from the third quarter of 2009 was however lower than the 36,500 in the first quarter of 2010.
Services contributed the bulk of employment, followed by construction. However,manufacturing employment however fell by 2,400, after increasing by 3,100 in the preceding quarter.
Based on preliminary estimates, there were also fewer workers made redundant in the second quarter of 2010, which was significantly lower than in the previous quarter.
Unemployment also broadly stabilised, after declining sharply at the end of last year with the seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate up slightly from 2.2% in March 2010 to 2.3% in June 2010. This however, is still an improvement from the 3.2% seen a year ago.
Among the resident labour force, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.3% in June 2010, but was significantly below the 4.5% in June 2009.
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rates in June 2010 were higher than in March 2010 reflecting the increase in job seekers as tertiary graduates entered the labour market and students sought employment during the mid-year school vacation.
Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong expects Singapore to enjoy robust employment growth this year.
"As the economy recovers, companies may be tempted to focus on fulfilling immediate orders to allow the company to grow. I would encourage them not to lose sight on the long term need to continue to step up efforts to improve productivity," said Mr Gan.
- CNA
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