Resident employment in Singapore grew strongly in the third quarter for higher-skilled and higher-paying sectors, and while job vacancies fell, there were still more job openings than unemployed people. The number of job vacancies in September stood at 63,400, down from 81,200 in June, according to finalised Ministry of Manpower (MOM) data for the third quarter of 2024 released on December 9. The drop reflects a gradual downtrend from the peak of 124,400 in March 2022. It was driven by the construction, transportation and storage, and manufacturing industries, where more lower-skilled jobs were filled by work permit holders.
Despite the decline, MOM noted there remained more job openings than unemployed people. In September, there were 1.39 job vacancies for every unemployed person, compared with 1.67 in June. The start of year-end festivities is expected to give a further boost to labour demand, the ministry added. Post-Covid-19 pandemic, MOM noted that employers might have filled up vacancies more adequately, with more workers staying on in their current jobs, observed by the gradual decline in resignation rate, down from 1.7 per cent in 2022 to 1.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2024. “The labour market is expected to stay tight with low unemployment; but tightness could ease gradually as more job vacancies are filled and the number of job vacancies, as well as the ratio of job vacancy to unemployed person, continue to adjust towards pre-pandemic levels,” MOM said.
In a continuation of the trend seen last quarter, resident employment – which comprises Singaporeans and permanent residents – grew strongly in higher-skilled and higher-paying sectors. Resident employment rose by 4,000 in the third quarter, reversing from a seasonal decline of 600 in the second quarter, driven by strong hiring in outward-oriented sectors such as information and communications, professional services, and financial services. The share of locals among professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) has risen over the past decade. With every one increase in S Pass or Employment Pass (EP) holders, 10 such jobs were created for Singapore residents. Sectors such as the financial and insurance services, and information and communications, hire the most number of EP holders, noted MOM. Since 2014, while the number of EP and S Pass holders in these sectors increased by 17,000, resident PMET employment went up by 172,000.
Meanwhile, non-resident employment among S Pass and EP holders grew by 18,200, primarily due to the hiring of work permit holders in construction and manufacturing.
There are generally not enough resident workers in these sectors which comprise mostly blue-collar jobs, such as construction labourers, the ministry added. “Employment among higher-skilled pass types grew modestly in the third quarter after declines in the previous quarters,” said MOM.
This is because post-pandemic, employers adjust their workforces and adapt to policy changes such as Complementarity Assessment Framework and higher qualifying salaries to improve the quality of the foreign workforce, added the ministry.
While sought-after skills like nursing saw an increase in employment for S Pass holders, the number of EP holders remained steady in the third quarter after declines in the first half of 2024. Overall, total employment increased by 22,300 in third quarter, nearly double the 11,300 gain in the previous quarter.
MOM said the number of employees on short working week or temporary layoff stayed low, signalling overall positive business confidence. The rate at which residents found jobs within six months of being laid off rose from a low of 55 per cent in the previous quarter to 60.4 per cent in September.
Straits Times
