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Employment |
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More people have secured employment, bolstered by
the favourable economic conditions. |
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Preliminary estimates show that employment
grew by a strong 110,800 in 2005, exceeding the previous year¨s gains of
71,400. This brings the total number of persons employed to a new high
of 2,317,400 as at December 2005. |
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The growth was achieved on the back of
robust quarterly gains, peaking at 32,800 in the fourth quarter of 2005. |
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All major sectors registered employment
growth. The services-producing industries added 24,100 workers in
the quarter, supported by seasonal hirings for the year-end
festivities. This brings the employment gains in services for the
whole of 2005 to 71,800, or about two-thirds of the total employment
gains for the year. |
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Manufacturing employment rose by 6,500
in the last quarter of 2005, bringing the total gains in the sector
to 29,500 in the year. |
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Even the construction sector ended the
year with 8,500 more workers than at the start. This marked a
turnaround from the employment losses it had generally experienced
since 1998. |
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Preliminary findings from a survey of
private sector establishments with at least 25 employees show that
3,100 workers were retrenched in the fourth quarter of 2005. This
brings the total retrenchment for the whole of 2005 to 10,200,
comparable to that in 2004, but a marked decline from 16,400 in
2003. |
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The manufacturing sector made up
two-thirds of the workers laid off in 2005. Another 31% was
contributed by services and 3% by construction. |
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Unemployment |
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With the robust employment creation,
unemployment has fallen. |
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The year ended with a seasonally
adjusted overall unemployment rate of 2.5% in December 2005, which
is significantly lower than 3.0% in the same period a year ago, and
3.3% in September 2005. |
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Among the resident1 labour
force, the rate was 3.3%, also down from 4.0% in December 2004 and
4.4% in September 2005. This is the lowest rate recorded in over 4
years. |
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On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the
overall unemployment rate was 2.6% in December 2005. |
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Despite the entry of students seeking
vacation jobs and school leavers into the labour market, the rate
has dropped from 2.9% in September 2005. |
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Among the resident labour force, the
non-adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4%. An estimated 64,200
residents were unemployed in December 2005. The seasonally adjusted
figure was 60,700. |
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For information on data sources and
coverage, as well as definitions of key concepts used in the report,
please refer to the attached Explanatory Notes. |
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The preliminary data estimates are
available on the Ministry of Manpower¨s website at
http://www.mom.gov.sg/mrsd/publication. A more detailed
breakdown of the preliminary estimates will be released in the
Economic Survey of Singapore, 2005. |
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More..... (Tables/Charts) |
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1
Comprises Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents |
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Source:
www.mom.gov.sg Press Release 1
Feb 2006 |
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FrontPage Edition: Wed 1 Feb 2006
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