[h=1]PMETS MAKE UP 66% OF RESIDENTS MADE REDUNDANT IN 2014[/h]
Post date:
23 Apr 2015 - 1:13pm
There has been an increase in the number of workers made redundant and retrenched over the past five years, and the bulk of them are PMETs.
Last year, there were 12,930 workers made redundant. This is in comparison to 9,800 in 2010.
Of those made redundant, the majority was due to being retrenched. 10,910 workers were retrenched last year, as compared to 7,740 in 2010.
Also, 2,020 workers were released from their contracts early.
Similarly, the number of establishments with redundancies also increased from 831 in 2010 to 1,028 last year.
The construction and service sectors saw the highest increase in redundancy. The construction sector saw an increase in 50.4 percent in redundancy, from 1,120 workers who were made redundant in 2013 to 1,690 last year.
The service sector saw a 33.7 percent increase in redundancy, from 5,430 workers in 2013 to 7,260 last year.
However, PMETs made up the bulk of the layoffs last year, with PMETs making up 51 percent of workers made redundant.
In fact, workers in the service sector make up a higher and higher proportion of the layoffs since 2006. In 2006, workers in the service sector account for only 28 percent of the layoffs but by last year, they made up 56.2 percent of those laid off.
And among the PMETs, it has increased from 29 percent in 2006 to 50.5 percent last year.
The top reason given for the layoffs is due to restructuring (44 percent in services). However, high labour costs and high operating costs, other than labour costs, also come up as key reasons, making up 33 percent and 36 percent of the reasons in the service sector.
Of those laid off, more than half - or 56 percent - are residents. There is no breakdown as to whether these residents are of Singaporeans or permanent residents.
But among residents who were made redundant, 66 percent of them were actually PMETs. These PMETs were also likely to be in their 40s (36 percent) and 30s (32 percent).
Most of the PMET residents laid off were also tertiary-educated (87 percent) with 61 percent of them who have degrees.
In fact, the proportion of PMET residents made redundant have been increasing since 1998, from 25 percent in 1998 to 66 percent last year.
On top of that, it is also more difficult for residents with degrees to find reemployment, with only 60.7 percent of them being able to do so within a year, as compared to above 70 percent for the other educational qualification levels.
Moreover, for those who could find remployment, 68 percent of them had to switch industries.