Overall unemployment rate holds firm at 2.2% in March

The manufacturing sector continued to shed workers.

The seasonally adjusted overall and resident unemployment rates for March 2019 were at 2.2% and 0.3%, respectively, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) revealed. Citizen unemployment rate inched up slightly from 3.1% in December 2018 to 3.2% in March.

Total employment growth (excluding foreign domestic workers) in Q1 went up by 12,000, representing a slowdown as compared to the 14,700 in Q4 2018 due to seasonal factors.

This, however, was higher as compared to the reported 400 employment growth in Q1 2018. Manpower in Q1 was supported by mainly the services sector, comprising community, social & personal services, administrative & support services, professional services, financial services, and transportation & storage.

Construction employment increased slightly, after eleven consecutive quarters of decline, whilst manufacturing continued to shed workers.

The number of retrenchments in Q1 stood at 2,500, slightly similar to Q4 2018 (2,510) and slightly above Q1 2018 (2,320).