Singapore’s resident employment rate above pre-pandemic levels, but labour market still impacted by COVID-19: MOM
EMPLOYMENT RATES UP ACROSS DEMOGRAPHICS
The employment rate for residents aged 15 and over as of June 2021 was 67.2 per cent, up from 64.5 per cent last June and also above the 65.2 per cent reported in June 2019.
“This reflected economic recovery and the impact of measures such as the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, Jobs Support Scheme and Jobs Growth Incentive on the labour market,” MOM said.
More than 146,000 people had been placed into jobs or attachment and training opportunities under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package as of the end of September this year.
The Jobs Growth Incentive scheme, which supports employers in expanding local hiring, helped 58,000 businesses hire more than 400,000 locals between September 2020 and May 2021.
Employment rates were up across demographic profiles.
The employment rate for youths aged 15 to 24 stood at 37.2 per cent in June, compared to 30.9 per cent a year earlier, with “more students taking on part-time or temporary work" on the side, MOM said.
For residents aged between 25 and 64, the employment rate was at 81.8 per cent, ahead of the 80.3 per cent reported in 2020. Men in this age group saw a rise from 87.9 per cent to 88.9 per cent, while the rate for women went up to 75.1 per cent from 73.2 per cent.
“Supported by sustained efforts to raise the employability of seniors, such as the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant, the employment rate of seniors aged 65 and over rose to 28.5 per cent in June last year despite the recession, and continued to increase at a faster pace to 31.7 per cent as at June 2021,” MOM said.
Among resident employees, 88 per cent were in permanent positions, with the number of such employees growing by 50,900.
The percentage of employees on fixed-term contracts hit a new high of 8.4 per cent due to economic uncertainty and the demand for temporary manpower related to the pandemic. Last June, this number was 7.3 per cent.
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