MOM releases latest labour report

Retrenchments are at their lowest in five years

BY Nurhuda Syed 13 Jun 2018

Retrenchments are at their lowest in five years and there are more job vacancies than unemployed workers, according to a Ministry of Manpower labour report on the first quarter of 2018. The report was released earlier today (13 June).

Overall, the labour market has shown slight improvement from last year. MOM said this was “supported by sustained” economic growth.

The decline in retrenchments was most significant for PMETs with at least a post-secondary qualification. Successful restructuring of roles in organisations was highlighted as the main reason for the drop.

Unemployment is also at its lowest since March 2016.

“To keep unemployment low, it is critical to prepare workers and businesses to be agile and responsive to economic restructuring and the evolving employment landscape,” MOM said.

MOM expects the demand for labour to further expand in 2018, particularly in the services sectors such as finance & insurance, infocomms & media, healthcare and professional services.

Hiring will remain cautious in the construction and marine shipyard sectors.

“Overall, this is a positive job report demonstrating a continuing candidate-driven market,” said Ian Grundy, head marketing & communications, Asia Pacific at The Adecco Group.

“Where we see job growth slowing or jobs changing, there needs to continued efforts of reskilling and retraining and guiding people to take mid-to-long term view of their careers.”