Thailand
Singapore’s unemployment rates rise in July, ending eight-month streak of improvement
SINGAPORE’S unemployment rates rose in July after having trended downward for the past eight months, which may have been due to tightened Covid-19 curbs in preceding months, latest Ministry of Manpower (MOM) figures showed on Monday.
“Nonetheless, the rates in July remained lower than in May 2021,” noted the MOM in its release.
Overall unemployment was 2.8 per cent in July, up from 2.7 per cent in June and comparable to May.
Resident unemployment rose to 3.7 per cent from 3.5 per cent previously, though still below May’s 3.8 per cent figure. Citizen unemployment was 3.9 per cent in July, up from 3.7 per cent in June but lower than May’s 4 per cent rate.
There were 87,300 unemployed residents in July, of which 77,200 were citizens. This is up from 86,600 unemployed residents in June, but lower than the 88,600 in May.
The MOM said that “other labour market indicators” suggest that the rise in unemployment rates could be due to a temporary easing of manpower demand in certain sectors during the Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) stage of Covid-19 curbs, from May 16 till June 13. It did not specify what these other indicators were.
More details will be released in the Labour Market Report for Q2, on Sept 15, said the MOM.
Maybank Kim Eng economist Chua Hak Bin expects that this is a “temporary pause” in the ongoing labour market recovery, adding: “The jobs market will likely recover with the recent reopening.”
He noted that the unemployment rate is a lagging indicator, as firms which had to downsize during the Heightened Alert period would still have had to provide some notice period to their employees.
“The latest Markit employment PMI in August suggests that firms are hiring but are facing difficulties in filling vacancies,” he added, referring to the Purchasing Managers’ Index, a leading indicator of business conditions.
Source: https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapores-unemployment-rates-rise-in-july-ending-eight-month-streak-of