PMETs make up 70% of those retrenched in Singapore in Q3 2018

Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) yesterday (13 December 2018) released the full labour force report for Q3.

This follows the advanced labour force report for Q3, released end November, announcing an improvement in the workforce as of June 2018.

In the full report, the following additional highlights were revealed:

Fewer workers were retrenched

• Fewer workers were retrenched in the third quarter of 2018 (2,860), compared to the previous quarter (3,030) and a year ago (3,400). This drop was observed mainly in the construction sector.
• In the third quarter of 2018, retrenchments were led by fabricated metal products, machinery & equipment 4 (14%), wholesale trade (13%) and financial services (11%).
• Business restructuring and reorganisation remained the top reason for retrenchment, accounting for 60% of total retrenchments. While layoffs due to recession and poos business declined.
• Professionals, managers, executives & technicians (PMETs) make up 70% of those retrenched in Q3 2018, with these professionals continuing to be over-represented relative to their overall workforce composition.

Re-entry rates into the workforce declined

• The six-month re-entry rate among retrenched residents in Q3 2018 was at 62%, a 2% drop from that in Q2, and 1% higher than that in Q1.
• The decline was due to those previously employed in clerical and production, and related jobs.
• Lower entry rates were observed across all age groups.

The tightening of the labour market may have started to ease

• Despite there being more job vacancies than job seekers in Q3, the seasonally-adjusted ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons dipped from 1.10 in June 2018, to 1.05 in September 2018.
• PMETs formed the bulk of the increase in job vacancies over the year, at 7,600 new employees. This was led by higher-skilled industries including information & communications (+1,200), financial services (+1,100) and professional services (+1,100).
• Non-PMET openings also rose at 2,600, more than half of which came from construction.

Recruitment and resignation rates eased

• In Q3 2018, the seasonally-adjusted recruitment and resignation rates eased from a quarter ago. The decline in recruitment rate suggests some caution in hiring.
• However, hiring activity remained higher than in the same period a year ago.
• Recruitment rates were higher across most industries, with larger increases observed in real estate services, cleaning & landscaping, construction and higher-skilled industries such as financial services and professional services.
• Resignation rate declined over the year, led by food and beverage services and administrative and support services. Nonetheless their resignation rates remained higher than in other industries, reflecting a higher reliance on non-permanent employees.

Average hours worked remained unchanged

• The average total weekly paid hours worked per employee was unchanged at 44.9 hours in September 2018, after a brief rise in Q2.
• Nevertheless, hours worked remained lower than a year ago (total 45.1; overtime: 3.0).

Lead image / 123RF

Infographic / MOM