Neighbouring country Singapore saw its employment rate go up now for two consecutive years, as the city opened up and more jobs were made available.
The employment rate for residents aged 15 and above rose for the second consecutive year to reach 67.5 percent in 2022, MOM said. This is 2.3 percent higher than the rate in 2019, before the pandemic.
The Manpower Ministry added that Singapore would rank third for overall employment rate amongst Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.
The report found that the employment rate rose, incomes grew and a higher percentage of Singapore residents were working as professionals, managers, executives, and technicians (PMETs) in 2022 as the country continued its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unemployment rates also fell for workers across occupations in 2022 compared to last year, MOM said.
Among PMETs, the unemployment rate fell from 3.4 percent to 2.6 percent. For non-PMETs, the unemployment rate fell from 5.1 percent to 4.4 percent.
MOM said that the long-term unemployment rate also decreased to around pre-pandemic levels for both PMETs and non-PMETs.
For PMETs, the rate fell from 0.8 percent to 0.5 percent, while non-PMETs saw a drop from 0.9 percent to 0.7 percent.
The ministry defines long-term unemployed individuals as those aged 15 and older who have been unemployed for 25 weeks or more.
