SINGAPORE — With firms now filling more job positions, the total number of people employed here in the second quarter this year reached 99.5 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, fuelled by a"significant increase" in non-resident employment.
The majority of the non-resident employment increases were attributed to the manufacturing and construction sector, while consumer-facing and tourism-related sectors have also begun to see a pick-up in non-resident employment.
The ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons edged up from 2.42 in March to 2.53 in June, as unemployment rates declined further. The recruitment rate rose over the quarter, from 2.5 per cent in March to 2.6 in June, a rate that was last seen in 2014.Over the quarter, accommodation and air transport and supporting services saw the largest increase in recruitment rates
He said that for resident employees, the ministry is trying to raise the labour force participation rate, which is calculated as the labour force divided by the total working-age population.