Thailand
Singapore’s resident unemployment rate up in August
SINGAPORE: The resident unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points in the month of August to 4.5%, said a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) report yesterday.
This was slightly higher than the increase of 0.3 percentage points in July, when the resident unemployment rate was 4.1%.
While monthly unemployment rates have so far generally remained lower than past recessionary highs, they have been gradually rising, added the MOM.
During the severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) period in 2003, the rate was 6.2% in September. It was 4.9% during the global financial crisis in September 2009, noted the report.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said: “We cannot tell, at this point in time, whether in the coming months, the unemployment rate will uptick at a faster rate, or stay around the same.
“But nonetheless we’re keeping a very close watch, and when the next set of figures are available, we will also share them with the public, ” she said at a media briefing.
The MOM noted that the Monetary Authority of Singapore has estimated that the combined budgets Singapore rolled out this year – amounting to S$100bil – will prevent its economy from contracting by a further 5.6% of GDP in 2020, and 4.8% in 2021.
“Our economic support measures will also offset some of the rise in resident unemployment rate by about 1.7% this year. This could mean about 155,000 jobs saved over these two years, although we will still see job losses overall, ” said the report.
The MOM started to provide a monthly update on the unemployment rate from last month. In the three months to the end of June, retrenchments more than doubled to 8,130 compared to the first quarter of the year at 3,220.
The second-quarter retrenchment figure was above the peak during the 2003 Sars period, but below other recessionary highs such as during the 2009 global financial crisis.
Asked if the unemployment rate could be expected to go up in the coming months as government subsidies wean off, Teo said: “We’re watching it very closely. It’s very hard to foretell the future. What we can do, however, is to make sure that even the opportunities that are currently available, they continue to be filled as quickly as possible.”
She said that while the Jobs Support Scheme, which provides wage subsidies to help firms retain local workers, will eventually taper off, the government has not waited until it has fully tapered off to introduce a new programme in the form of the Jobs Growth Incentive. It provides wage subsidies of 25% of the first S$5,000 of gross monthly wages for each new local hire below 40. — The Straits Times/ANN
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2020/10/08/singapores-resident-unemployment-rate-up-in-august