Job vacancies hit 49,000 in June

More than half were for professionals, managers, executives & technicians.

Job vacancies hit 49,000 in June, up from 46,800 in March.

According to the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) latest report, Singapore's ratio of its job vacancies to unemployed improved to 0.85.

Around 55% of the vacancies were for professionals, managers, executives & technicians (PMET).

Clerical, sales & service workers followed with 24% and production & transport operators, cleaners & labourers with 21%.

PMET job vacancies rose to 1,200, due to industries such as financial & insurance services with 1,100, information & communications with 600, and electronics with 400.

Meanwhile, non-PMET vacancies decreased by 1,700. Clerical, sales and service workers in retail trade removed 500 vacancies, transportation & storage decreased by 300, and wholesale trade and real estate services both fell by 200.

The seasonally adjusted recruitment rate stayed at 2.1% Q2.

Meanwhile, resignation rate dipped from 1.8% to 1.7%, after holding steady since 1Q2016.

"On a yearly basis, the declines in recruitment and resignation rates were broad-based across most occupational groups and industries. Bigger declines were observed in retail trade and professional services for recruitment rates, and wholesale trade, information & communications, and real estate services for resignation rates," MOM said.

Employment in the construction sector also continues to shrink after it lost 10,500 workers in Q2.

This amounts to 23,100 jobs lost for the half year, a reversal from the increase of 2,100 a year ago.

MOM cited weakness in the private sector and public sector construction output as a factor for the decline.

Things don't appear too well for the manufacturing sector as well as it lost 3,600 jobs, bringing the total fall to 8,000 for H1.

Meanwhile, employment in the services sector grew by 7,000, bringing the total increase to 17,000 in H1.

Community, social, and personal services led the increase with 8,500, followed by health & social services with 2,700; financial & insurance with 4,800; and administrative & support with 4,400.