Only 4 in 10 Singaporeans re-entered employment in Q1: MOM

It’s the lowest rate since 2009.

New jobs are proving elusive to Singaporeans looking to get re-employed, as only over 4 in 10 (46%) Singapore residents made redundant in 4Q15 clinched new jobs by March 2016.

According to a report by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), this is down from 5 in 10 (50%) in the previous quarter. This is also the lowest re-entry rate since June 2009.

Meanwhile, MOM reports that unemployment rate stayed low and unchanged at 1.9% in March 2016. Unemployment also dipped among residents (2.9% to 2.7%) and citizens (3.0% to 2.6%). However, long-term unemployment rate inched up from 0.5% to 0.7%.

Further, 1Q16 saw employment grow by 13,000; this is lower than the seasonal high growth of 16,100 in 4Q15. Additionally, though total employment growth in 1Q16 was a turnaround from the 6,100 pullback in 1Q15, it was significantly lower than 2013 and 2014.

MOM also shares that though job openings continued to outnumber job seekers, the seasonally adjusted ratio has slipped to 103 openings per 100 job seekers in March 2016. This is the lowest figure since June 2012, which saw 98 openings per 100 job seekers.

MOM anticipates redundancies to climb in sectors hit by with external demand, amid the softer economic conditions and the ongoing economic restructuring.