Redundancies in Q1 spike year-on-year amid cyclical weakness, economic restructuring

Services sector saw the most layoffs.

About 4,600 Singapore workers were made redundant in 1Q16, compared to the previous quarter’s 5,370, according to figures released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Despite this pullback in redundancies, however, the figure is still higher than 1Q15’s 3,500.

In addition, layoffs fell over the quarter in manufacturing and construction, and increased in services.

“Amid the cyclical weakness and as the economy restructures, some consolidation and exit of businesses is expected, contributing to redundancies,” MOM notes.

MOM further reports that the overall seasonally adjusted unemployment was unchanged at 1.9% from December 2015 to March 2016. Over the quarter, unemployment rate fell among residents from 2.9% to 2.7%, and among citizens from 3% to 2.6%. This was due mainly to a lower labour force participation among youths aged 15 to 24.

Meanwhile, total employment climbed by 11,400 in Q1 this year. This was lower than the seasonally high growth of 16,100 in 4Q15 and a turnaround from the decline of 6,100 in 1Q15.

MOM notes that the employment uptick in Q1 was driven largely by services (11,900), though growth had slowed from the previous quarter (21,500) following the end of festivities.

Manufacturing employment extended its decline (2,000) for the sixth consecutive quarter, though the rate of decline in 1Q16 had waned in comparison to the previous five quarters (-4,700) on average.

On the other hand, employment in construction saw accelerated growth during the quarter (1,600) than the preceding quarter (900).

Overall, March 2016 saw total employment reach 3,667, 600—1.4% higher than a year, and faster than December 2015’s 0.9% pace.