Employment growth cools in Q1 of 2024, retrenchments down for second straight quarter: MOM

SINGAPORE: The labour market continued to form bigger in the first quarter of 2024, although at a slower tempo as compared with preceding quarters, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Tuesday (Apr 30).

Retrenchments, in the intervening time, declined for a 2d consecutive quarter with unemployment rates remaining low, MOM said in an reach unlock of its labour power document for the quarter.

The slower snarl continues the pattern of cooling labour inquire of of in 2023, with arrangement back dangers in the realm economic system remaining, the ministry said.

“Nevertheless, total employment snarl increased in the first quarter amidst moderate tightness in the labour market, driven wholly by an lengthen in resident employment as unemployment rates remained low,” it said.

Excluding migrant domestic workers, total employment grew by 4,900 in the first three months of this three hundred and sixty five days. Here’s lower than the expansion of 7,500 reported in the fourth quarter of 2023.

This employment snarl used to be “wholly supported by an lengthen in resident employment”, with non-resident employment contracting for the first time because the third quarter of 2021 amid the cooling inquire of of for labour, MOM said.

“This lengthen in resident employment used to be increased than that in the outdated quarters in 2023, and used to be equivalent to resident employment snarl in non-recessionary periods,” the ministry added.

Despite the dip in non-resident employment, MOM said that applications for increased-expert non-residents – equivalent to employment pass holders – had “picked up in tandem with improved industry expectations”.

The lengthen in resident employment used to be mainly attributable to snarl in the financial services, neatly being and social services, and public administration and training sectors.

“Employment snarl in these sectors outweighed the seasonal declines in retail replace, meals and beverage services and lodging following the discontinuance of the festive duration,” MOM said.

The decline in non-resident employment used to be mainly attributable to a contraction in the snarl sector.

“Employment in the sector fell for the first time since 4Q 2021, as development companies adapted to the reduction in the sector’s dependency ratio ceiling from 1:7 to 1:5, with end from Jan 1, 2024,” MOM said.

The dependency ratio ceiling refers to basically the most ratio of international workers to the final personnel that a firm in a given sector can make enlighten of.

Smaller declines were considered in the manufacturing and data and communications sectors.