File photo of office workers in Singapore's central business district. SINGAPORE: The labour market in Singapore continued to expand in the first quarter of 2024, with total employment growth driven primarily by residents.
However, non-residents employment fell by 800 - mainly in the construction and manufacturing sectors - as the lower Dependency Ratio Ceiling for the construction and process sectors came into effect The number of people holding work permits and other work passes went up in the first quarter of 2024, although the growth has slowed significantly from the previous quarter.The declines in EP holders were in sectors such as information and communications and professional services, which continued to face global headwinds.
The ratio of job vacancies to unemployed people fell from 1.74 in December to 1.56 in March. It is an indication that the labour market remained tight, although the ratio has decreased consistently since its high of 2.54 in June 2022.The number of retrenchments continued to drop, from 3,460 in the previous quarter to 3,030, due to the decrease in retrenchments from outward-oriented sectors such as wholesale trade and electronics manufacturing.
"Nearly six in 10 or 59.4 per cent of retrenched workers were able to re-enter employment six months post-retrenchment, although the re-entry rate has dipped slightly compared to the previous quarter at 61.5 per cent."