Why unemployment is the least of Singapore workers' worries

The bigger concern is the skill mismatches.

According to Bloomberg, job cuts in Singapore may be at the highest since 2009, but official data shows workers still have it easier than most. As local politicians seek to appease the population, the most recent figures show Singapore remains one of the easiest countries in the world to find work. The median period of unemployment for job-seekers last year was eight weeks, which is less than half that of Australia's and compares well with other developed economies.

Even for older workers, the picture is far from bleak. While such employees face the highest risk of losing their jobs in Singapore, as with most other countries, 98 percent of those who reached the retirement age of 62 last year were offered re-employment, local media cited Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say as saying earlier this month. Singapore's jobs market remains tight partly due to recent curbs on immigration and despite slowing economic growth. Indeed, there's a bigger concern than lack of work, according to Krystal Tan, an economist with Capital Economics Ltd. It's skill mismatches that are the problem as some workers lose long-term manufacturing jobs that are slowly moving away from the small and costly city-state.

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