• November’s unemployment rate for residents — citizens and permanent residents — fell to 4.6 per cent, the first decrease in 2020
• Overall unemployment rate dipped from 3.6 per cent in October to 3.3 per cent in the following month
• While declining joblessness is a sign of relief, Manpower Minister Josephine Teo warned that economic recovery would remain bumpy
• A more complete set of employment statistics that will show a fuller picture will be out in end-January

SINGAPORE — The unemployment rate fell across the board in November last year from the previous month. 

This is the first time since Covid-19 struck Singapore that joblessness has declined, based on new data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Friday (Jan 8).

The unemployment rate for citizens and permanent residents (PRs) came in at 4.6 per cent, declining from 4.8 per cent in October last year, when joblessness peaked.

For citizens alone, the unemployment rate dipped from 4.9 per cent in October to 4.7 per cent in November. 

The overall unemployment rate, which covers citizens, PRs and foreigners living in households here, dropped from 3.6 per cent in October to 3.3 per cent in November.

In its labour market report for the third quarter of last year, MOM noted that employment among citizens and permanent residents had recovered to near-pre-pandemic levels, but more residents were jobless over an extended period. 

There were 22,000 people in September last year who had been jobless for at least 25 weeks, up from 18,600 three months before. 

This brought the long-term unemployment rate for residents up to 0.9 per cent in September last year, up from 0.8 per cent in June that year, a trend that MOM said “bears close watching”. 

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said that the decline in joblessness across the board was a “sign of relief”, though she was cautious in being too optimistic over these figures for now. A more complete set of job statistics, including local employment levels, will be released later this month.

She was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a visit to the Devan Nair Institute for Employment and Employability, where both Mrs Teo and National Trades Union Congress secretary-general Ng Chee Meng met staff and trainers at the Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and the NTUC LearningHub.

“We remain very cautious for several reasons. One is that… in many other countries, public health risks are still very significant. We have to be very vigilant in this sort of landscape,” said Mrs Teo.

In terms of economic and job recovery, Mrs Teo said some “bumpiness” is expected unlike during the 2008 global financial crisis, in which there was a V-shaped recovery signified by an economy that rebounds quickly after a crisis.

Instead, she noted how some have warned of a K-shaped recovery — whereby one part of the economy recovers while another segment suffers.

“Essentially, (this means) the recovery is uneven, and some of the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak will be quite long-lasting, not only to people's health but even in the way that businesses operate, and there will continue to be pressure in the way businesses adapt,” she said.

This also means jobs could be impacted amid such necessary transformation, she added.

Said Mrs Teo: “We must maintain a very high degree of emphasis on rescaling, upskilling and bringing jobseekers and employers together. So this will remain a central focus, notwithstanding the fact that the unemployment rate showed a decrease in November 2020.”

Nevertheless, Mr Ng said that the November unemployment statistics lend hope that this is “the start of the upturn”.

“But we are not out of the woods yet,” he added, highlighting the need for continued efforts to help workers prepare for the new normal of work.

Some 10,000 employers have partnered with NTUC’s Job Security Council, successfully securing around 28,000 job matches so far, said the labour movement chief.

“There are still certain sectors in our economy, such as aviation, aerospace, hospitality and tourism — all these will still be challenged,” he said.