Sep 14, 2009

Long-term unemployment up

WITH unemployment rising for five quarters before stabilising in June, long-term unemployment among the jobless in Singapore has worsened, said the Ministry of Manpower on Tuesday.

The resident long-term jobless rate rose to 1.3 per cent in June from 0.5 per cent a year ago - a four-year high for June periods.

Some 25,800 or 22 per cent of resident job seekers had been looking for work for at least 25 weeks in June, up from 9,500 or 12 per cent a year ago.

At its peak, there were 30,600 long-term unemployed residents, comprising 32 per cent of the unemployed and 1.8 per cent of the labour force in June, according to the second quarter labour market report released by MOM.

The re-employment rate fell to a new low, reflecting the weak job market, said MOM. Based on CPF records, 43 per cent of the residents retrenched in the first quarter were re-employed by June.

The deterioration in re-employment prospects over the quarter was broad-based. Those retrenched from clerical, sales and service jobs experienced the largest drop in re-employment rate, after holding up in the earlier quarter.

Their re-employment rate at 51 per cent was still higher than 42 per cent for professionals, managers, executives & technicians and 43% for production and related workers.

Labour productivity declined over the year by 6.2 per cent in the second quarter, easing from the 15 per cent contraction in the previous quarter.

Over the same period, nominal earnings fell by 2.2 per cent, following Q1's decline of 3.7 per cent.

The report is available online on the Ministry of Manpower?s website at www.mom.gov.sg/mrsd/publication.

- The Straits Times

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