Labour Market Report Third Quarter 2022

Overview

1.         The labour market continued to improve in the third quarter of 2022, although there are early indications of easing of momentum. Total employment continued to expand robustly this quarter (75,900), more than in the previous quarter (66,500) with increases observed for both non-residents (71,100) and residents (4,800). Unemployment rates (overall: 2.0%, resident: 2.8%, citizen: 3.0%) and resident long-term unemployment rate (0.7%) remained at pre-pandemic levels¹.

2.         With rising total employment as well as significant uncertainties in the economic outlook, the total number of job vacancies decreased in September 2022 (108,200) although it remained high. Retrenchments have increased (1,120) from a record low in the previous quarter.

Main Findings

Total employment growth continued to increase, and unemployment rates held steady

3.         Total employment (excluding Migrant Domestic Workers) continued to expand in 3Q 2022 (75,900), higher than the increase in 2Q 2022 (66,500), and is now 1.7% above the 2019 level.  Non-resident employment expanded more quickly (71,100) as it has yet to recover to its pre-COVID level. Resident employment, which is 4.4% above the 2019 level, grew at a more moderate pace (4,800).

4.         Non-resident employment growth was concentrated in Manufacturing and Construction, sectors with a higher share of non-resident workers. Resident employment growth was led by outward-oriented sectors such as Financial Services, Professional Services and Information & Communications, and also in Accommodation.

Unemployment rates remained low

5.         Unemployment rates (overall: 2.0%, resident: 2.8%, citizen: 3.0%) have remained around their pre-COVID averages. The resident long-term unemployment rate (0.7%) was unchanged over the quarter in September 2022, after returning to pre-COVID levels in June 2022.

Retrenchments increased, but remained a step-down from pre-pandemic levels

6.         Retrenchments increased to 1,120 in 3Q 2022, from a record low of 830 in 2Q 2022.  This increase came mostly from technology firms (from 110 to 460). Vacancies in the sector remained high, suggesting that these retrenchments were a consequence of restructuring efforts within the sector. Retrenchments in other sectors stayed low and were mainly due to restructuring or reorganisation. The percentage of retrenched residents who found employment within six months post-retrenchment continued to decline (64.8%) from the high in 1Q 2022 (71.5%), but remained comparable to pre-COVID rates.

7.         The number of employees placed on short work-week or temporary layoffs rose to 920 in 3Q 2022 from 600 in 2Q 2022, but remained low compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Job vacancies declined

8.         Labour market tightness eased, as total job vacancies decline for the second consecutive quarter to 108,200 in September 2022. Correspondingly, the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons also decreased to 2.20².  The bulk of the job vacancies were in Manufacturing and Construction, and the services industries of Information & Communications, Financial Services, Professional Services and Health & Social Services.

Conclusion

9.         Although the labour market continues to see improvement and labour demand remains robust, the uncertain global economic environment, higher global inflation, as well as geopolitical tensions, will weigh on the labour market going forward. To remain competitive and resilient amidst these global developments, we encourage employers and workers to make full use of Government programmes to accelerate the pace of transformation and upskill. Workforce Singapore (WSG) offers the Support for Job Redesign under Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG-JR), which employers can tap on to increase the productivity and attractiveness of their jobs. They also offer Job Redesign Reskilling Programmes, which helps employers upskill their existing employees and enable them to take on a wider variety of roles.

10.       Per the National Wages Council’s 2022/2023 guidelines, employers should adopt the Flexible Wage System so that they are in a better position to deal with any headwinds, even as they reward employees with wage increases or variable payments in line with their firms’ recovery and performance over the past year.

For More Information

11.       The “Labour Market Report, Third Quarter 2022” is released by the Manpower Research and Statistics Department, Ministry of Manpower.  The report and technical notes on the various indicators are available at https://stats.mom.gov.sg/.