Job vacancies in Singapore inched up to 49,000 in June from 46,800 in March, and 55 percent of the new vacancies were for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), the Singapore Business Review reported this week.
Out of the 2,200 new jobs, there were 1,200 vacancies for PMETs in financial and insurance services (1,100), information and communications (600) and electronics (400).
The other vacancies were for clerical, sales and service workers (24%) and production and transport operators, cleaners and labourers (21%).
The new figures brought the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed to 0.85. This ratio relates the job openings to job seekers available.
“Job vacancies capture information on unfilled posts for which employers are actively recruiting employees from outside the establishments. These can be new positions created due to business expansions or existing positions that have become vacant arising from staff turnover,” according to the Ministry of Manpower.
The job vacancy rate is the percentage of manpower demand that is unfilled, i.e. the number of job vacancies divided by the total demand for manpower (or the sum of employees and job vacancies).
Meanwhile, resignation rate dipped from 1.8 percent to 1.7 percent, after holding steady since 1Q2016.
"On a yearly basis, the declines in recruitment and resignation rates were broad-based across most occupational groups and industries.” MOM said. “Bigger declines were observed in retail trade and professional services for recruitment rates, and wholesale trade, information & communications, and real estate services for resignation rates."
Employment in the construction sector also continued to shrink after it lost 10,500 workers in Q2. This brings total number of jobs lost in the first semester to 23,100, a reversal from the increase of 2,100 a year ago.
The MOM cited weakness in the private sector and public sector construction output as a factor for the decline.
In the manufacturing sector, 3,600 jobs were lost in the quarter, bringing the total decline to 8,000 for the first half of 2017.
But employment in the services sector grew by 7,000, bringing the total increase to 17,000 in H1.Community, social, and personal services led the increase with 8,500, followed by health & social services with 2,700; financial & insurance with 4,800; and administrative & support with 4,400.
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