Singapore’s unemployment rates edged up slightly in March 2022 with the overall rate rising from 2.1% in February 2022 to 2.2% in March 2022, according to the latest labour market report from the Ministry of Manpower. This was comparable to pre-Covid-19 rates, the Ministry added.

In March 2022, the resident and citizen unemployment rates remained unchanged from February 2022, at 3.0% and 3.2% respectively.

The Ministry noted that total employment continued to expand in Q1 2022 with increases in both resident and non-resident employment.

In Q1 2022, total employment (excluding Migrant Domestic Workers, or MDWs) expanded by 41,100. This was slightly lower compared to Q4 2021 (47,900) but remains a robust pace of growth.  With the progressive lifting of border restrictions, the increase in non-resident employment was significantly greater than that of resident employment, as employers replenished their non-resident workforce.

Resident employment trends were mixed across sectors. Outward-oriented sectors such as Information & Communications and Financial Services continued to see steady resident employment growth. The former was driven by strong demand for IT and digital solutions, while the latter was in part driven by activities linked to financial services, such as security dealing and payments processing. 

In contrast, resident employment declined in sectors such as Food & Beverages Services, Retail Trade, and Accommodation. These sectors typically experience employment declines following seasonal hiring for the year-end festive period in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the number of layoffs fell to a record low (1,300 or 0.6 laid off per 1,000 employees) amid a tight labour market. Employers attributed most of the retrenchments to ‘reorganisation’ or ‘restructuring’.

“In the coming months, we expect non-resident employment to continue to recover, given the significant relaxation of border measures from April 2022,” the Ministry stated. “This will alleviate some of the tightness in the labour market. As economic recovery continues to drive demand for workers, we expect the resident unemployment rate to stay low, and resident employment to continue to grow modestly.”

“Nevertheless, downside risks to economic growth have increased due to the global economic uncertainty arising from the Russia-Ukraine conflict, protracted global supply disruptions driven largely by the conflict and the ongoing pandemic, monetary policy tightening in advanced economies, and continued uncertainty over the trajectory of the pandemic. These factors could affect business sentiments and profitability, and in turn, labour demand,” the Ministry noted.