Q2 2019 labour data: Singapore's employers are retaining workers despite economic headwinds

In the just-launched Labour Market Report Second Quarter 2019 by Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM), trends suggest that employers are retaining their existing workers despite economic headwinds.

This is attested to by the numbers which show that retrenchments were lower (2,320 in Q2 2019) than the previous quarter (3,230 in Q1 2019), and a year ago (3,030).

The decline in layoffs was broad-based, but in particular electronics. There were fewer retrenchments among production & related workers (1,350 to 340) and clerical, sales & service workers (440 to 290); but layoffs among professionals, managers, executives & technicians (PMETs) rose from 1,440 to 1,680.

As such, the majority of retrenchments in Q2 2019 were from services (72%), led by wholesale trade (19%), financial services (17%) and professional services (11%). Restructuring and reorganisation remained the key reason cited by establishments for retrenchments.

NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay has analysed the trends: "For the first half of 2019, despite the current global trade tensions, we did not see a huge spike in retrenchment figures compared to the same period last year but there is a weakening of the labour market.

"I expect companies and businesses to be more conservative and cautious, especially in hiring in the latter half of 2019 with the continued US-China trade tensions. We will continue to see different measures undertaken by companies in different industries as they cope with the global trade crisis while managing transformation and technological disruption."

Data relating to this trend is reflected in the below infographic:

Among the other highlights of the report are:

• Hiring sentiments have turned cautious. The number of job vacancies declined for the second consecutive quarter. The re-entry rates among retrenched residents declined. As the resident unemployment rate inched up, there were fewer job vacancies than unemployed persons for the first time since December 2017.
• The seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose for residents (from 3.0% in March 2019 to 3.1% in June 2019) and citizens (from 3.2% to 3.3%), as more persons entered the labour force. The unemployment rate was unchanged at the overall (2.2%). Most were able find work within six months, as the seasonally-adjusted resident long-term unemployment rate was unchanged at 0.7% in June 2019.
• Total employment (excluding foreign domestic workers, or FDWs) increased by 6,200 in the second quarter of 2019, similar to the growth a year ago (6,500). The bulk of employment growth was in services (5,400, excluding FDW), although the growth in the sector was at its lowest since the third quarter of 2016.
• The six-month re-entry rate among retrenched residents declined to 60% in the second quarter of 2019, after trending up in the preceding two quarters.
• The number of job vacancies (seasonally-adjusted) declined for the second consecutive quarter, from 57,100 in March 2019 to 47,700 in June 2019. As a result, the seasonally-adjusted ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons dipped to 0.94 for the first time since December 2017.