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SINGAPORE: Singapore's labour market will continue to be soft for the next two quarters as the economic outlook remains uncertain.
Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong also said anecdotal feedback from unions and employers suggests retrenchment may be lower in the second quarter because most of it had been done after the Lunar New Year.
Nonetheless, the unemployment rate may remain high or increase in the second quarter, he said.
Job data for the second quarter will be released at the end of this month.
As for employment figures going ahead, Mr Gan said they depend on companies receiving orders beyond July and August.
So far, the situation remains unclear. Hence, it is difficult to predict if a second wave of retrenchment will come.
Mr Gan made these comments at a news conference regarding the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR) on Friday morning.
So far, 1,800 companies have signed up for SPUR, sending 83,500 workers for training. Also, 40,600 individuals have signed up for SPUR.
Of this number, 19,000 found jobs through SPUR.
There are still 27,000 job seekers in Singapore.
The government had budgeted S$650 million for the SPUR programme and so far S$210 million has been committed.
- CNA/ir
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