MOM reveals latest unemployment report

Singapore continued to see a decline in unemployment in May 2021, suggesting that the country is enroute to recovery. In a Facebook post, Manpower Minister Dr Tan See Leng shared a chart showing the gradual drop in unemployment since September 2020. “Unemployment rates continued on a downward trend in May 2021, a good sign that our labour market is steadily improving,” wrote Dr Tan. Unemployment was at its highest in September (3.5% overall) but had dropped to 2.8% by May this year.

Despite this, the government remains cautiously optimistic about the evolving situation, as the world experiences new COVID-19 waves and implements added safety restrictions, including Singapore’s latest ‘heightened alert’ protocols. The minister said we’ve ‘yet to see the full impact’ of those restrictions and reminded employers to support jobseekers.

“The road to recovery may be a long one,” he said. “As we restructure and rejuvenate our economy so that we can create good jobs, I 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. At the same time, I want to encourage our jobseekers, who have continuously shown resilience and willingness to try out new roles and sectors during this difficult time.”