SINGAPORE — The unemployment rate among Singaporeans rose to 3.3 per cent last year from 3 per cent in 2018, but while this is of concern, it is not alarming, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said on Thursday (Jan 30).

She was speaking to reporters during a briefing on the advance release of Singapore's fourth quarter labour market report.

The report showed that even as unemployment rose slightly, total employment grew as 55,200 net new jobs were added to the economy in 2019, the highest annual growth since 2014. 

Net new jobs refers to the total number of new jobs added to the economy, minus jobs that were lost.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 

The unemployment rate has been trending upwards over the last few quarters, the report showed.

• Citizen unemployment rate: 3.3 per cent in 2019, up from 3 per cent in 2018

• Resident unemployment rate (taking in both Singaporeans and Permanent Residents): 3.2 per cent in 2019, compared with 2.9 per cent in 2018.

• Overall unemployment rate (which includes residents and foreigners): 2.1 per cent in 2019, compared with 2.3 per cent in 2018.

• As of December 2019, an estimated 64,600 Singaporeans were unemployed.

• Including PRs, about 72,800 residents were unemployed.

Mrs Teo said the unemployment rate has been inching upwards for about two years, since the start of 2018, and that the Government has been paying close attention.

However, the resident unemployment rate has been hovering at around 3 per cent over the past 10 years, which is not as high as during earlier periods of economic turbulence, she pointed out.

The unemployment rates during the 2001 dotcom bubble burst, the severe acute respiratory syndrome crisis in 2003 and the 2009 global financial crisis were around 4 to 5 per cent.

From that perspective, Mrs Teo said the 2019 unemployment rates "are a concern but they are not alarming". 

EMPLOYMENT GROWTH 

Given the economic uncertainties, the 55,200 net new jobs figure, excluding foreign domestic workers, was better than expected, said Mrs Teo.

This is higher than the 38,300 employment growth in 2018.

In 2019:

• 26,500 net new jobs went to locals

• 14,900 net new jobs went to foreigners

The sectors that contributed to employment growth:

• Services, which mainly hired locals

• Construction. Half of foreign employment growth was due to an increase in work permit holders from the construction sector.

RETRENCHMENTS

Retrenchments in 2019 remained low, and stayed at the same level as in 2018.

• 10,700 were retrenched in 2019.

• 10,730 were retrenched in 2018.

Retrenchments rose in the following sectors:

• Manufacturing 

• Services 

Labour Member of Parliament Patrick Tay said the data, showing a rise in unemployment, retrenchment figures holding steady and growth in employment, suggests that structural challenges such as skills and jobs mismatches continue to be the main cause of unemployment in Singapore. 

“Most companies held the line amidst the United States-China trade war and global uncertainties in 2019. The layoffs we saw in 2019 were mainly due to reorganisation, restructuring and transformation, besides global trade and geo-political uncertainties.”

The ongoing Wuhan situation and how it pans out will inevitably affect demand and impact sectors such as aviation, travel, hospitality and retail, among others, he added.

Mrs Teo said on Thursday that if the situation worsens and affects the job market, the Government has the resources to help workers. 

“On the manpower front, our priority is to mitigate the fallout and support affected workers so as to preserve their livelihoods. That’s very important,” she said.