Singapore's unemployment rate continues downward trend in May 2021

Minister for Manpower, Tan See Leng, said the data is "a good sign that our labour market is steadily improving".

Singapore's Manpower Research and Statistics Department's latest report has found that the country's unemployment situation continued to improve in May 2021.

Declines were seen in unemployment across all categories, namely:

• Citizens - from 4.1% in April 2021 to 4% in May 2021
• Residents (Singapore citizens & permanent residents) - from 3.9% in April 2021 to 3.8% in May 2021
• Overall - from 2.9% in March & April 2021 to 2.8% in May 2021. 

In actual terms, this means that 88,600 residents were unemployed in May 2021, including 79,000 citizens, based on seasonally adjusted data.

Minister for Manpower, Tan See Leng, said the data is "a good sign that our labour market is steadily improving".

"However, we remain cautiously optimistic about the situation as we continue to see resurgence of the virus globally and have also yet to see the full impact of Phase 2 (Heightened Alert) restrictions, which began in mid-May."

He continued to urge businesses to tap on available support such as the Jobs Growth Incentive to expand local hiring, as well as existing schemes to innovate and transform their work processes. 

Image / Minister Tan See Leng's Facebook