The number of employed Singapore citizens and permanent residents fell for the first time since the second quarter of 2020, according to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) latest labour market update released on Thursday (Sep 14).
Resident employment contracted by 1,200 in the second quarter of 2023 despite “robust increases” in sectors such as community, social and personal services and financial and insurance services.
The number of people employed in retail trade and food and beverage services dropped because of seasonal factors, and offset the growth in other sectors, MOM said.
“Usually in the second half of the year, close to September until December, and sometimes stretching a little bit into the Chinese New Year, we have all these year-end festivities as well as we have the (Formula One race),” said Mr Ang Boon Heng, director of Manpower Research and Statistics at MOM.
Many people are hired for temporary work related to these events, and that tapers off in the first half of the next year, he said.
“They tend to be students or part-time (workers),” Mr Ang added.
MOM said it does not expect the contraction in resident employment to persist. Hiring will be boosted by the recovery in tourism and the year-end celebrations, though it may not be as strong as in 2022, MOM said.
Dr Tan said businesses and workers need to be ready for the downside risks in the global economy. He noted that the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s GDP growth forecast for the year is 0.5 percent to 2.5 percent, below last year’s 3.6 percent.
“Our country’s external demand outlook for the rest of the year remains weak. This is due to persistent inflation in advanced economies and geopolitical tensions amongst the major regional powers,” he said.
“As a result, our employment growth is likely going to be lumpy and uneven across sectors.”
