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SINGAPORE : The Manpower Ministry (MOM) on Tuesday said the incidence of workers laid off fell to a new low last year.
In its Redundancy and Re-employment report, the Ministry said around 9,800 workers were made redundant last year.
This is much lower than the 23,430 recorded during the recession in 2009.
The labour market has seen an uplift in the past year, with fewer people in Singapore losing jobs.
The MOM's latest report shows that the number of lay off incidents fell by more than half.
This means that 5.7 workers were made redundant for every 1,000 employees in 2010, much less than the 14 per 1,000 in 2009. This is also lower than the previous trough of 6.0 per 1,000 workers in 2007.
Fewer people in the manufacturing sector lost their jobs last year, but workers in the sector remain the most vulnerable, with a ratio of 12 to 1,000 workers losing jobs.
Vishnu Varathan, Asia economist at Capital Economics, said: "I think the main reason why the manufacturing sector remains the most vulnerable is because in Singapore, there has been an ongoing upgrade of the manufacturing sector to higher value added products.
"In the process, there is a need to retool factories, there is a need to re-equip, there is a need to also bring up the training level and productivity level. So in this process, in the whole re-structuring process, it is inevitable that there will be labour market losses, and there will some unemployment that comes about."
The MOM's Redundancy and Re-employment report shows there were 4,690 layoffs in manufacturing last year, down from 13,840 in 2009.
The construction sector laid off 1,300 workers in 2010, slightly higher than the 950 in the previous year. Meanwhile, the services sector laid off 3,810 workers, a decline from 8,850 in 2009.
Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) accounted for 35 per cent or 3,450 of the workers displaced, while 15 per cent or 1,450 were clerical, sales and service workers.
Residents formed 58 per cent of the workers made redundant in 2010, down from 62 per cent in 2009. This was lower than their composition in the workforce, which remained at around 69 per cent in 2010.
Analysts said higher input costs and wage rises will continue to put pressure in the manufacturing sector.
They added that employment opportunities will likely come from the services sectors, with the gaming and hospitality sector gaining traction.
Pan Zai Xian, director of Financial Services & Legal at Robert Walters, said: "I would still be bullish when it comes to within the services side. That seems to be where there will be more employment opportunities in terms of where the investments are in Singapore, whether you look for the tourism, the hospitality or banking industry.
"If you are talking about types of positions that will be on offer, a lot of them will probably be more of management or more of the technical specialist type of roles."
Prospects for re-employment also improved last year, with more securing jobs within a shorter period of time.
Two in three (66 per cent) residents made redundant in the first three quarters of last year were re-employed by December.
Analysts said the trend is likely to continue this year as the labour market is expected to remain robust.
- CNA/ck/ms
SINGAPORE : The Manpower Ministry (MOM) on Tuesday said the incidence of workers laid off fell to a new low last year.
In its Redundancy and Re-employment report, the Ministry said around 9,800 workers were made redundant last year.
This is much lower than the 23,430 recorded during the recession in 2009.
The labour market has seen an uplift in the past year, with fewer people in Singapore losing jobs.
The MOM's latest report shows that the number of lay off incidents fell by more than half.
This means that 5.7 workers were made redundant for every 1,000 employees in 2010, much less than the 14 per 1,000 in 2009. This is also lower than the previous trough of 6.0 per 1,000 workers in 2007.
Fewer people in the manufacturing sector lost their jobs last year, but workers in the sector remain the most vulnerable, with a ratio of 12 to 1,000 workers losing jobs.
Vishnu Varathan, Asia economist at Capital Economics, said: "I think the main reason why the manufacturing sector remains the most vulnerable is because in Singapore, there has been an ongoing upgrade of the manufacturing sector to higher value added products.
"In the process, there is a need to retool factories, there is a need to re-equip, there is a need to also bring up the training level and productivity level. So in this process, in the whole re-structuring process, it is inevitable that there will be labour market losses, and there will some unemployment that comes about."
The MOM's Redundancy and Re-employment report shows there were 4,690 layoffs in manufacturing last year, down from 13,840 in 2009.
The construction sector laid off 1,300 workers in 2010, slightly higher than the 950 in the previous year. Meanwhile, the services sector laid off 3,810 workers, a decline from 8,850 in 2009.
Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) accounted for 35 per cent or 3,450 of the workers displaced, while 15 per cent or 1,450 were clerical, sales and service workers.
Residents formed 58 per cent of the workers made redundant in 2010, down from 62 per cent in 2009. This was lower than their composition in the workforce, which remained at around 69 per cent in 2010.
Analysts said higher input costs and wage rises will continue to put pressure in the manufacturing sector.
They added that employment opportunities will likely come from the services sectors, with the gaming and hospitality sector gaining traction.
Pan Zai Xian, director of Financial Services & Legal at Robert Walters, said: "I would still be bullish when it comes to within the services side. That seems to be where there will be more employment opportunities in terms of where the investments are in Singapore, whether you look for the tourism, the hospitality or banking industry.
"If you are talking about types of positions that will be on offer, a lot of them will probably be more of management or more of the technical specialist type of roles."
Prospects for re-employment also improved last year, with more securing jobs within a shorter period of time.
Two in three (66 per cent) residents made redundant in the first three quarters of last year were re-employed by December.
Analysts said the trend is likely to continue this year as the labour market is expected to remain robust.
- CNA/ck/ms
