Singapore's Labour Market Sees Strong Growth In Q3 

SINGAPORE, Dec 9 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Singapore's labour market showed strong growth in the third quarter of 2024, with total employment nearly doubling the increase seen in the previous quarter, reported Xihua, citing the latest Labour Market Report by the Ministry of Manpower published on Monday.   

 By September, total employment, excluding migrant domestic workers, reached 3,736,900, reflecting an increase of 22,300 in the third quarter.    

Both resident and non-resident employment saw growth. The ministry noted that resident employment expanded in outward-oriented sectors such as information and communications, professional services, and financial services, as workers moved away from domestic-focused industries like retail and food services.

The growth in non-resident employment was driven primarily by the hiring of work permit holders in the construction and manufacturing sectors.    

Unemployment rates showed a slight decline. The overall unemployment rate in September was 1.9 per cent, with resident and citizen unemployment rates standing at 2.6 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively.

Job vacancies dropped to 63,400 in September, down from 81,200 in June, largely due to fewer openings in lower-skilled roles within sectors like construction, transportation, storage, and manufacturing, which have largely been filled by work pass holders. Despite the decline, vacancies continued to outnumber unemployed persons, with 1.39 jobs available per jobseeker.    

"The upcoming year-end festivities are expected to give a further boost to labour demand," the ministry said.    

Employment data in the report excludes migrant domestic workers, whose numbers are released separately in the ministry's foreign workforce updates. As of June, there were over 294,900 migrant domestic workers in Singapore, making up 19 per cent of the total foreign workforce.  

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA