NON-RESIDENT EMPLOYMENT
While work permit holders increased, the numbers of S Pass and employment pass ( EP ) holders both fell.
MOM said the S Pass recipients ‘ decline, which mainly consisted of those in manufacturing, was in line with recent efforts to raise qualifying salaries and taxes and lower limits.
In addition to increased administrative and support services and general trade, EP holders increased in information and communications, specialized services, and financial and insurance solutions.
MOM reported that as companies adjusted their post-pandemic workforces and adapted to plan changes to improve the quality of the international labor, the total amount of S Pass and EP buyers decreased in the first quarter of 2024.
” With the business picking up, the number of higher-skilled foreign employees is expected to rise in the medium-term, if economic conditions remain good”, said the government.
JOB VACANCIES AND Layoff
The great number of job openings remained steady at 81 and 200 in June, despite strong labor demand in Q2.
Job vacancies exceeded the number of poor people’s employment in June, increasing to 1.67 in the ratio.
Unemployment rates improved in June ( 2.0 per cent overall, 2.7 per cent for residents and 2.8 per cent for citizens ) and the resident long-term unemployment rate stayed low at 0.8 per cent.
Cutbacks rose slightly to 3, 270 from 3, 030 in the first quarter, with rises in financial and insurance companies and retail business, but remained reduced total at 1.4 retrenched per 1, 000 employees.
However, the rate of re-entry to the workforce following retrenchment decreased from 59 % in the previous quarter to 55 %.
According to MOM, the re-entry price substantially increases with time based on the experiences of previous groups of retrenched workers.
More than 70 % of retrenched native workers in the first half of the year 2023 found work within 12 months of losing their jobs.
Companies cited restructuring or business organization as justifications for retrenchments.
” Layoff have decreased as regional external need outlook is anticipated to be resilient for the rest of 2024,” said MOM.” Recessations due to concerns of crisis or downturn in the market have decreased.
The government predicted that the labor sector speed would continue moving forward, with wages and employment growing in combination with economic growth.