Singapore’s resilient labour market to limit effects of economic slowdown: analysts

Unemployment rate clocks in at just 2.1%.

Even amidst an uninspiring growth outlook, analysts say Singapore has found a safety net in its labour market, which has been remarkably stable.

According to a report by BMI Research, although the economy added just 5,500 jobs in the last quarter, its slowest pace of growth in over a year, the number is nevertheless a reasonable rate of job creation for an economy at full employment.

“Going forward, we believe that Singapore's relatively liberal labour regulations, which keep the cost and paperwork associated with sourcing talent, hiring, and firing limited compared to most developed markets, will keep the labour market robust and dynamic,” BMI Research noted.

Additionally, Singapore's lack of strict wage criteria allows employers to adjust much more quickly to economic trends, preventing structural inefficiencies.

“Finally, the Singaporean government has no external debt and the majority of its domestic liabilities are intra-governmental or for the purpose of establish a more robust local bond market, providing policymakers with significant manoeuvrability in the event of an acute economic downturn,” the report added.