But the labour market continued to expand for the eighth straight quarter, with increases for both residents and non-residents.
Activities in the wholesale trade sector range from the buying and selling of goods to storage and warehousing, as well as marketing, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Meanwhile, the services sector, which includes wholesale trade, laid off 3,100 people, up 550 from the 2,550 in the previous quarter.
This increase is comparable to the previous quarter, with the growth coming from both residents and non-residents. Nonetheless, the ministry said the pace of employment growth has slowed compared with a year ago, amid the global economic slowdown and as business expectations worsened in September 2023.
Finalised labour data for the quarter will be released in mid-December, and will include more details such as the breakdown of resident and non-resident employment, various sectoral breakdowns, number of job vacancies, labour turnover, and re-entry rates among retrenched residents.