NON-RESIDENT EMPLOYMENT
While work permit holders increased, the numbers of S Pass and employment pass (EP) holders both fell.
MOM said the decline in S Pass holders, who mostly worked in manufacturing, was in line with moves in the past two years to uplift the quality of S Pass holders by reducing quotas and raising qualifying salaries and levies.
EP holders increased in administrative and support services and wholesale trade, but decreased in information and communications, professional services and financial and insurance services.
MOM said the overall number of S Pass and EP holders fell in the first half of 2024 as firms made post-pandemic workforce adjustments and adapted to policy changes to improve the quality of the foreign workforce.
“With the economy picking up, the number of higher-skilled foreign workers is expected to rebound in the medium-term, if macroeconomic conditions remain positive,” said the ministry.
JOB VACANCIES AND RETRENCHMENTS
Labour demand stayed strong in Q2, with the high number of job vacancies holding steady at 81,200 in June.
The labour market remained tight with job vacancies exceeding the number of unemployed people, rising to a ratio of 1.67 in June.
Unemployment rates improved in June (2.0 per cent overall, 2.7 per cent for residents and 2.8 per cent for citizens) and the resident long-term unemployment rate stayed low at 0.8 per cent.
Retrenchments rose slightly to 3,270 from 3,030 in the first quarter, with increases in financial and insurance services and wholesale trade, but remained low overall at 1.4 retrenched per 1,000 employees.
But the resident rate of re-entry to the workforce after retrenchment dipped to 55 per cent from 59.4 per cent in the previous quarter.
MOM said that based on experiences of past cohorts of retrenched workers, the re-entry rate improves significantly with time.
In the first half of 2023, more than 70 per cent of resident workers who were retrenched found employment within 12 months of losing their jobs.
Firms cited business organisation or restructuring as reasons for retrenchments.
“Retrenchments due to concerns of recession or downturn in the sector have declined, as local external demand outlook is expected to be resilient for the rest of 2024,” said MOM.
The ministry said it expected labour market momentum to be sustained going forward, with wages and employment continuing to grow in tandem with economic growth.
From: channelnewsasia
Business News
