Fri, 15 Jun 2012

Singapore’s labour market showed signs of softening but remained relatively strong across the first quarter of 2012, reveals new statistics released by its Ministry of Manpower.

The bulk of new jobs came from service (15,800 new jobs), with community, social & personal services (8,800), construction (8,700), administrative & support services  (3,400) and manufacturing (2,000) also growing.

Total employment rose by a net figure of 27,200 in the period, lower than the previous quarter’s 37,600 figure and just below the 28,300 recorded in Q1 2011.

Unemployment also rose slightly from 2% to 2.1%, while the number of layoffs and the number of job openings both declined.