Written Answer to PQ on Re-entry rate of retrenched residents

NOTICE PAPER NO. 2344 OF 2023 FOR SITTING ON OR AFTER 7 NOVEMBER 2023
QUESTION NO. 5170 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

NCMP: Mr Leong Mun Wai

To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) in each quarter since Q1 of 2000 to 2012, what is the re-entry to employment rate of retrenched residents; and (b) since Q1 of 2000, what proportion of those who re-entered employment found jobs that paid at least 80% of their last drawn wage and were in the same sector as their previous jobs.

Answer

1. We publish data on the proportion of retrenched residents who re-entered employment within six months post-retrenchment from 2000 onwards on the Ministry of Manpower website.  

2. The data for the proportion of those who re-entered employment in the same sector is available annually in the fourth quarter’s Labour Market Report. The requested time series is provided below in Table 1, where around two-thirds re-entered into a different industry since 2009. While wage data for the requested time series is not available, a 2021 MOM study found that retrenched residents who re-entered employment in the same industry from which they were retrenched were more likely to receive similar or higher wages in their new roles, compared to those who switch industries. This is expected as employers tend to place more value on workers’ prior industry-specific experience.