Bad news! Unemployment inches up to 2.1%

Now's maybe not a good time to ask for a raise or look for a new job.

Here’s more from OCBC:

The unemployment rate has edged up marginally to 2.1% in Q1 2012, and the very modest easing in job vacancies suggest only a slight loosening in tight labour market conditions for now.

So while the job and wage expectations may be dampened slightly vis-a-vis 2011, we do not expect to see a surge in retrenchments or a jump in the unemployment rate to near-crisis levels of 3.3% seen in Q3 2009, especially given the foreign manpower constraints.

Any softening in the domestic labour market may be shallow and benign. The ongoing slowdown has already made employers more cautious in their hiring intentions, as illustrated in the latest business expectations survey for both manufacturers and services industries for the April-September period.