SINGAPORE — The latest data on the job market shows retrenchments increased 12 per cent in the first quarter of the year from the previous three months, but Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo warned that these statistics may not fully reflect the reality on the ground. This is due to the challenges of collecting data amid the Covid-19 outbreak and circuit breaker measures.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced that based on preliminary data for the first quarter of the year, retrenchments rose to 3,000, up 12 per cent from 2,670 in the last quarter of 2019.

Workforce Singapore’s (WSG) chief executive Tan Choon Shian said during a media briefing via the Zoom video conferencing platform that the number of retrenchments seen so far this year has been “manageable”.

Mr Tan said employers are required to inform WSG if they decide that they need to retrench workers, and that there has been a “slight increase” in such notifications.

“(WSG) is standing by in case the numbers increase, because going forward, things are uncertain,” he said. “But as of this moment, it's a manageable number.”

Manpower Minister Teo, however, added that she would be “quite careful about how to characterise” the increase in retrenchments so far.

“This is a very unusual situation. Some companies may not actually even be operational. So, even if they wanted to notify us (of retrenchments), it may not be top of their priority.”

She added that some employers have also had trouble filling up the ministry’s labour market survey because the information needed could not be easily retrieved.

Amid safe distancing and circuit breaker measures, some companies are not operating from their offices, too, so there is no one around to complete the MOM survey, she said. 

“So, I think we do not want to come across as being so optimistic that it is only a small increase (in retrenchments),” said Mrs Teo. “We always have a certain sense of reality that we may not be getting the full picture.”

The advanced labour market report also showed that total employment fell by 19,900 in the first quarter of the year from the previous quarter, the sharpest contraction since 2003.

Mr Tan said that some of the sectors that were the hardest hit were the usual suspects, such as manufacturing and construction.

However, due to the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak, food and beverage as well as tourism-related companies were especially hard hit in the first quarter of the year, too.

Nevertheless, Mrs Teo said that local employment is “holding up for now” — though this may well be due to some employers choosing to cut wages rather than dismissing their workers.

She added that the relief measures from the Budget, one third of which was focused squarely on jobs and wage support, may also be helping.

“We think that that is probably also contributing to holding down the retrenchments and, more or less, unemployment for now,” she said.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay warned that he expects the “coming months and the rest of the year” to be challenging.

“I expect the unemployment and retrenchment figures to pick up,” said Mr Tay, who is also the Member of Parliament for West Coast Group Representation Constituency.

Mr Tay added there will be a need to keep a close watch on retrenchment notifications and give appropriate and timely help to employers and workers in need.

“Moving ahead, I urge employers and businesses to acquaint themselves and better leverage the plethora of support schemes, including training funds,” said Mr Tay.

He said this will help better manage and reduce costs, and minimise the need to delve into measures to manage excess manpower. 

As for workers, he reiterated that they should use the downtime to upskill and upgrade themselves.

Separately, Mrs Teo said young graduates should not let the Covid-19 situation stop them from building up their resumes.

One way to do so, she said, is through WSG’s SG United Traineeships Programme, which offers traineeship opportunities across various sectors.

While it may not always lead to permanent employment for the trainee, Mrs Teo said it is more important that they learn something from their stint.

At the same, she said they can also show that they were “meaningfully occupied during this period”.