Lay-offs spike to record high since 2009 Global Financial Crisis: MOM

About 15,580 workers were laid off.

Lay-offs in 2015 spiked to the highest it’s been since the Global Financial Crisis in 2009, according to latest figures released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)

Last year saw 15,580 workers laid off, a steep climb from 12,930 in 2014. In addition, a pullback was seen in the rate of re-entry into employment among laid-off workers.

MOM asserts that both trends reflect the weaker economic conditions in 2015.

Meanwhile, Singapore employment growth slowed to a trickle on back of sluggish economic conditions and tightened foreign labour policy. Excluding Foreign Domestic Workers (FDWs), total employment grew by a meagre 0.7% (23,300) last year.

The services sector accounted for most of the employment growth in 2015, as total employment in the sector excluding FDWs increased by 36,500. In contrast, a pullback in foreign workers led to employment in the manufacturing sector dropping by 22,100. Also, employment in the construction sector slowed to 8,600 on back of muted output growth.

On the flip side, resident unemployment was low despite the slowdown in Singapore employment growth. The unemployment rate for residents last year came in at 2.8%, inching up from 2.7% in 2014. For citizens, unemployment was unchanged at 2.9%.

Moreover, though job openings continued to outnumber job seekers, this ratio moderated to an average of 1.23 in 2015, from 1.39 in 2014.