Singapore job vacancies dip for first time since 2009

Employment figures hold up in Q3 2011 but cracks are showing as the economy sours in 2012.

There were only 54,000 job vacancies in September 2011, a 13% drop from the previous quarter, the Ministry of Manpower said in its Labour Market report.

This is the first decline since the recession rebound in early 2009, and is seen as a precursor for higher unemployment next year.

"After adjusting for seasonality, job vacancies registered its first quarterly decline (-13%) since March 2009, departing from the rising trend following the recovery from the last recession. Along with the decline in unemployment, the seasonally adjusted ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons at 1.15 in September 2011 was largely unchanged from the 1.16 a quarter ago," said MOM.

"The employment outlook for the fourth quarter of 2011 has softened, as employers turn cautious, in anticipation of weaker economic conditions ahead. Already, the seasonally adjusted job vacancies had declined over the quarter in September 2011, departing from the rising trend over the past nine quarters. Going forward, employment gains are expected to moderate, beyond the temporary rise in manpower demand during the year-end and Lunar New Year festivities," added MOM.

The negative employment outlook shows how quickly the global economic conditions have worsened since Q3 2011.

In that quarter, Singapore posted strong employment growth and umeployment was kept in check. The services sector and manufacturing led the staffing gains.

"The bulk of the employment gains in the third quarter of 2011 came from services (21,200), slightly higher than in the preceding quarter (20,200). Supported by public sector projects, construction workforce rose by 6,800, higher than the gains of 3,600 in the previous quarter. Manufacturing registered gains of 3,700, up from 800 in the preceding quarter," said MOM.

"The seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate declined slightly from 2.1% in June 2011 to 2.0% in September 2011. Long-term unemployment remained low. In summary, the third quarter saw strong employment growth and a slight improvement in unemployment. Redundancy remained low, though workers on short workweek/temporary layoff have risen," it added.