SG mid-year employment rate rises to 67.2% in 2021

It reflected economic recovery and the impact of SGUnited measures.

The Manpower Research and Statistics Department of the Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MoM) issued the Advance Release of its annual Labour Force in Singapore 2021 on 1 December. This report analysed a wider range of labour market indicators such as employment rate and income growth not covered in the quarterly labour market reports.

The employment rate for residents aged 15 and over rebounded from 64.5% in June 2020 to 67.2% in June 2021. This reflected economic recovery and the impact of measures such as the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package, Jobs Support Scheme, and Jobs Growth Incentive on the labour market.

The nominal median income of full-time employed residents grew by 3.2% in June 2021 after decreasing in June 2020 (-0.6%). After accounting for inflation, real median income growth was lesser but remained positive at 1.1%, more than offsetting the decline of 0.4% in 2020.

The MoM concluded the labour market gradually recovered in 2021, although it has not fully returned to pre-COVID conditions. It also expected the labour market recovery to continue in the second half of the year and into 2022 unevenly across sectors.