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SINGAPORE : Singapore's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, from 1.7 percent in the third, as firms added new jobs across all sectors, the Ministry of Manpower said on Thursday.
Supported by robust job creation, the unemployment rate dropped to a decade low, comparable to pre-Asian crisis levels.
The economy created 64,200 new jobs in the three months through December, more than the 58,600 added in the third quarter, according to the ministry's preliminary estimate.
Fourth quarter employment growth was led by a strong increase in the services industry, while the manufacturing and construction sectors also made healthy additions.
For all of 2007, the economy added a record 236,600 jobs, up from 176,000 in the previous year.
The unemployment rate averaged 2.1 percent over the course of the year, lower than the 2.7 percent in 2006.
All major sectors registered employment growth in 2007.
The services sector saw the largest employment gains of 144,100, boosted by a rapid increase in hirings across a wide range of industries led by financial and professional services.
The booming construction sector added 40,900 workers, double the increase in 2006. Manufacturing employment rose by 49,400, supported by strong manpower demand in marine and offshore engineering.
Both locals and foreigners benefited from the strong job creation.
Local employment grew by 92,100 in 2007, slightly more than the gains of 90,900 in 2006. This is the third successive year that local employment creation has set new record highs.
Given the limits to the growth of Singapore's indigenous workforce and the larger base of jobs created, the local share of total employment created dropped from 52 percent in 2006 to 39 percent in 2007, even though the absolute gains in employment taken up by locals increased over the period.
Foreign employment rose by a new high of 144,500 in 2007, enabling the economy to grow beyond the limits of Singapore's indigenous workforce. As at December 2007, there were 900,800 foreigners - forming one in three (33 percent) of the 2.73 million persons employed in Singapore.
The majority or two thirds (67 percent or 1.83 million) of the workforce were locals. - CNA/ch
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