Experts Believe Thousands Of Jobs in S’pore Are Likely To Be Lost In The Next 6 Months

By
Shawn Ambrose
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Getting bad news during the coronavirus pandemic is like hearing that a restaurant flouted Covid-19 regulations: it’s not surprising.

That’s because we’ve been inundated with so much bad news in the last eight months or so that we’ve become accustomed to it.

The Covid-19 situation in Singapore is certainly improving, as only 22 new infections were reported yesterday, with just one case in the community.

Still, even though the rate of infection is slowing, the economic impact of the outbreak hasn’t truly been felt yet, as experts are warning us.

Experts Believe Thousands Of Jobs in S’pore Are Likely To Be Lost In The Next 6 Months

Tens of thousands of jobs here could be lost within the next six months, despite the government’s efforts to cushion the blow to our economy.

Sectors that will be hit particularly hard include aviation, tourism, retail, hospitality, entertainment, food and beverage, marine and offshore, and construction, reported The Straits Times.

The government has introduced measures such as the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS), but these schemes draw heavily on our reserves, and can’t be maintained for too long.

Image: Giphy

Experts are warning that the full impact of the pandemic hasn’t even been felt yet, despite retrenchments and pay cuts that many employees have already been subjected to.

Now, that’s just scary.

Retrenchment Doubled in the Second Quarter of 2020

I’m already delivering bad news, so I might as well do it all at once.

Things could get worse for workers in the near future, but retrenchments already more than doubled in the second quarter of this year, reported ST.

6,700 workers were laid off in the second quarter, up from 3,220 in the first.

This is worse than the peak of the SARS outbreak but not as bad as the 2009 global financial crisis high where 12,760 workers were retrenched.

Businesses Won’t Lay Workers Off Immediately

You’re probably a little confused. Why would workers lose their jobs in the future when businesses are already struggling and have been doing so for the last few months?

That’s because companies will try to retain their workers at first when experiencing losses, said National University of Singapore senior economics lecturer Kelvin Seah.

Retrenchments are viewed as a last resort; just as the government advised, businesses will first implement cost-cutting measures such as shorter work weeks, no-pay leave, and wage cuts.

And if all these alternatives fail, they have no choice but to lay some workers off.

Make Take Four Years For Jobs to Be Recovered

As one South China Morning Post report noted, Singapore’s job loss could be exacerbated by our rapidly ageing population.

More than 35% of our workforce is 50 and older, and with the coronavirus forcing the reshaping of certain industries and complete destruction of some jobs, it may take quite some time to recover.

Chua Hak Bin, a senior economist at Maybank Kim Eng in Singapore, said that while the country’s economy could return to pre-pandemic GDP levels in two years, it could take four years for the lost jobs to be recovered.

Image: Giphy

Man, I can’t wait to get back to the days where “bad news” was McDonald’s announcing the discontinuation of one of their temporary menu items.

On a separate note, here’s some good news to make up for all the bad I just gave you.

Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:

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Shawn Ambrose
Email: [email protected]