S’pore’s Employment Rate Fell in 2020 With Sharpest Decline in 20 Years; Foreigners Most Affected

It’s official.

Singapore’s employment rate last year (2020) fell, and it fell the deepest in 20 years.

On 16 Mar 2021, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released the latest labour market data.

Here Are The Findings

• Non-residents account for all of the employment declines in 2020
• Employment for Singaporeans and PRs rebounded to slightly above pre-COVID-19 levels by end-2020
• Unemployment rate fall after hitting a high of 3.5% (overall), 4.9% (citizens) and 4.8% (residents)
• By Dec 2020, the unemployment rate fell to 3.3% (overall), 4.5% (citizens) and 4.4% (residents)

Risk Factors

According to Manpower Minister Josephine Teo, this shows that the economy and labour market here is recovering.

However, that doesn’t mean we can be complacent.

According to the minister, the risk factors are still very much present.

They include:

• wage subsidies such as JSS coming to an end
• international borders remaining closed
• jobseekers becoming more “selective” about employment

JSS will also be replaced with the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI), she noted.

Varying Employment Trends

In 2020, employment trends vary across different industries.

For tourism and aviation-related sectors, the decline was the sharpest for both residents and non-residents.

For other sectors, however, non-resident employment declined while resident employment grew.

The sectors include:

• Public administration and education
• Health and social services
• Information and communications
• Financial and insurance services
• Professional services

The decline for non-residents was mainly due to a fall in the work permit and other work pass holders (-181,500), a decrease in S Pass holders (-26,000) and employment pass holders (-16,700).

Unemployment and Retrenchments

The overall rate of unemployment rose from 2.3% in 2019 to 3% in 2020.

Among residents, the unemployment rate rose from 3.1% (2019) to 4.1% (2020).

For citizens, it increased to 4.2% from 3.3%.

Retrenchments have doubled as well, from 10,690 to 26,110.

Of those who were retrenched, non-residents are likelier to lose their jobs than residents, MOM said.

The ones more prone to retrenchment include:

• Clerical, sales and service workers
• Older workers in their 50s
• Younger workers aged below 30

Women, too, were found to be more likely to be retrenched in 2020, compared with men.

That’s because there is a higher proportion of women in the arts, entertainment and recreation, as well as retail sectors.

These industries are the ones that are bearing the brunt of COVID-19 measures.

Taking Longer To Find Work

It was also found that in 2020, retrenched resident workers need a longer time to find new jobs.

About 62% were employed again within six months of retrenchment, compared with 64% in the previous year.

The decline in re-entry rate was seen across all groups, MOM says, including all age groups.

Only residents in their 50s saw a slight increase in their re-entry rate compared to 2019.

It was also found that a majority of resident workers who managed to re-enter the workforce went into a different industry, mostly administrative and support services.

This finding suggests that many have taken up temporary jobs.

And for some good news, it’s found that in the last quarter of 2020, job vacancies increase for the second quarter in a row, reaching 56,500 openings by Dec 2020.

Moral of the story? While it might seem bad now, maybe making a switch is what you need to get back on track.

For those who want options, you can check out the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package here.

Feature Image: Igor Plotnikov / Shutterstock.com