Singapore's jobless rate at 10-year low amid strong job creation
By Chio Su-Mei, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 31 October 2007 1013 hrs

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SINGAPORE : The Manpower Ministry has released the job market performance figures for the third quarter.

Singapore's unemployment rate for the quarter is the lowest in a decade.

Unemployment rate fell to 1.7 percent from 2.3 percent in the second quarter.

Manpower Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen said that at 1.7 percent the jobless rate has dropped to around the pre-Asian financial crisis level.

The Ministry added that job growth has also continued on a strong path.

Employment grew by 57,600 in the third quarter.

This is lower than the record gain of 64,400 in the second quarter but substantially higher than the 43,000 in the same period last year.

For Singapore to maintain this pace of growth, the Manpower Minister said it is necessary for all - Singaporeans and foreigners - to remain productive.

Dr Ng said: "They will have to make use of every available Singaporean, and increase the productivity. They have to retain and help Singaporeans work longer - older workers, beyond 62. I think they'll have to bring back even more people - women is one big group that I think they can try to attract back into the workforce. But I will also say that because we are growing so quickly, businesses are telling us that they are short of workers, so this is where foreign workers can help us continue to help our economy grow."

Lim Swee Say, NTUC Secretary-General, said: "If we are not able to find effective ways of addressing the concern of the tightening labour market, eventually it will slow down our inward investment flow. If the inward investment flow slows down, job creation will slow down. When job creation slows down, employment opportunities for Singaporeans, young and old, will slow down. By working towards a one inclusive workforce, we are creating more manpower engines."

Preliminary findings also showed that fewer workers were retrenched in the third quarter.

About 1,700 workers were retrenched, mostly from manufacturing.

The number is lower than the 1,918 figure in the second quarter and a marked drop from the 2,472 recorded in the same period last year.

From January to September, 171,500 jobs were created, comparable to the 176,000 created for the whole of last year.

And the services sector continues to lead employment gains with 34,500 workers in the last quarter, followed by the manufacturing sector with 11,800 and the construction sector with 10,800.

The bulk of new jobs came from the services sector. - CNA/ch