HIRINGS for the year-end festivities and the two integrated resorts added 38,700 jobs in the fourth quarter, cutting the overall unemployment rate to 2.1 per cent.
The new jobs created were much higher than the gains of 14,000 in the third quarter and 21,300 in same quarter a year ago, according to the fourth quarter data released by the Ministry of Manpower on Friday morning.
For the whole of 2009, total employment rose by 38,800, as job gains in the second half year more than offset the losses in the first half. The bulk of the employment gains came from services, which added 32,100 workers in the fourth quarter.
After shedding workers for four consecutive quarters, manufacturing employment rose by 1,400 in the fourth quarter. As the gains were not sufficient to offset the earlier losses, the manufacturing sector lost 43,000 jobs in 2009, said MOM.
With the strong employment growth, the seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate fell to 2.1 per cent in December, from 3.4 per cent in September. Among the resident labour force, the unemployment rate fell to 3 per cent from 5 per cent over the same period. An estimated 60,100 residents were out of work in December.
Redundancy fell for the third consecutive quarter. Based on preliminary estimates, 1,300 workers were retrenched and 200 contracts were terminated prematurely, resulting in 1,500 workers made redundant in the fourth quarter. This was substantially lower than the redundancies in the preceding quarter (2,470) and the fourth quarter of 2008 (9,410).
For the whole of last year, 22,700 workers were laid off - higher than the 16,880 in 2008, due to the spike in redundancies in the first quarter due to the economic downturn. Manufacturing formed the bulk of redundancies (59 per cent or 13,400), while services laid off 8,300 workers or 36.6 per cent and construction, 1,000 or 4.4 per cent.
Despite the economic contraction, local employment grew by 43,000 in 2009. In contrast, foreign employment fell by 4,200 compared to a record increase of 156,900 in 2008. As at December, there were 1.05 million foreigners forming 35.2 per cent of the 2.99 million workers in Singapore. The majority, comprising 64.8 per cent or 1.94 million, were locals.
- The Straits Times.
Jan 29, 2010
Jan 25, 2010
Job losses lower than record
THE number of retrenched workers in Singapore for the whole of 2009 is likely to be 'significantly lower' than the record level of 29,000 in 1998, said Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong on Tuesday.
Declaring a well-fought battle against massive layoffs last year, Mr Gan said the unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent as of last September was low compared to many developed countries and lower than the record 5.2 per cent in 2003.
'The key was tripartism - which was our secret weapon to tackle the downturn,' he said at a conference on managing manpower challenges in 2010 on Tuesday morning. This positive outcome would not have been possible without the trust, commitment and joint efforts among employers, workers and the unions that represent them.'
On the positive signs that the worst is over and Singapore's economy is recovering, Mr Gan cautioned: 'Even as we are on the road to recovery, we need to be mindful that it may take quite a while to see recovery spread evenly across the board.
'The future manpower landscape will evolve and there will be challenges ahead. It is therefore all the more crucial for us to ensure that our manpower laws, practices and particularly our tripartite partnership, remain relevant for the economy, for businesses and for workers over the long term.'
To develop a 'future-ready' workforce, Mr Gan urged companies to rethink their business strategies and restructure their operations, adding that the labour movement must also evolve to keep up with the changing landscape.
- The Straits Times
Declaring a well-fought battle against massive layoffs last year, Mr Gan said the unemployment rate of 3.4 per cent as of last September was low compared to many developed countries and lower than the record 5.2 per cent in 2003.
'The key was tripartism - which was our secret weapon to tackle the downturn,' he said at a conference on managing manpower challenges in 2010 on Tuesday morning. This positive outcome would not have been possible without the trust, commitment and joint efforts among employers, workers and the unions that represent them.'
On the positive signs that the worst is over and Singapore's economy is recovering, Mr Gan cautioned: 'Even as we are on the road to recovery, we need to be mindful that it may take quite a while to see recovery spread evenly across the board.
'The future manpower landscape will evolve and there will be challenges ahead. It is therefore all the more crucial for us to ensure that our manpower laws, practices and particularly our tripartite partnership, remain relevant for the economy, for businesses and for workers over the long term.'
To develop a 'future-ready' workforce, Mr Gan urged companies to rethink their business strategies and restructure their operations, adding that the labour movement must also evolve to keep up with the changing landscape.
- The Straits Times
Jan 21, 2010
61% of firms hiring more
BOSSES across the business spectrum - from multinationals to medium- and large-sized enterprises - will be stepping up hiring this year, according to a survey.
The telephone poll conducted by recruitment firm Achieve Group in December last year found that 61 per cent of firms said they will hire more workers in the first half of this year.
One per cent of the 500 firms polled said they plan to retrench staff, while 38 per cent said they would freeze hiring.
When Achieve carried out the same survey in the second half of 2008, 3 per cent of those polled said they would reduce headcount, as 51 per cent of them expected Singapore to run into a recession. No survey on hiring practices was conducted last year.
'This underscores the confidence within the business community,' said Achieve's chief executive Joshua Yim. The most bullish sectors are retail, hospitality and food and beverage, with 79 per cent of the companies polled saying they would step up hiring.
'This is likely linked to the opening of the integrated resorts,' said Mr Yim.
- The Straits Times
The telephone poll conducted by recruitment firm Achieve Group in December last year found that 61 per cent of firms said they will hire more workers in the first half of this year.
One per cent of the 500 firms polled said they plan to retrench staff, while 38 per cent said they would freeze hiring.
When Achieve carried out the same survey in the second half of 2008, 3 per cent of those polled said they would reduce headcount, as 51 per cent of them expected Singapore to run into a recession. No survey on hiring practices was conducted last year.
'This underscores the confidence within the business community,' said Achieve's chief executive Joshua Yim. The most bullish sectors are retail, hospitality and food and beverage, with 79 per cent of the companies polled saying they would step up hiring.
'This is likely linked to the opening of the integrated resorts,' said Mr Yim.
- The Straits Times
Jan 20, 2010
Work grievances in focus
NOW that the number of discriminatory job advertisements has dropped drastically - from almost 20 per cent to 1 per cent - the spotlight is on "in-employment" biases.
"These could be unhappiness over benefits, salary or assignment of work, but we're focusing on discriminatory practices," said Madam Halimah Yacob, the co-chairperson for the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep).
For instance, women with young children complain that they do not get as much in bonuses or miss out on a promotion because they are unable to put in overtime. Or an older employee, who despite his skills and energy, is passed over for promotion because the manager favours youth.
"However, these problems can be solved at the company level with an effective grievance-handling mechanism in place," said Madam Halimah. "It need not escalate and be brought up to Tafep."
As such, Tafep plans to work with 50 companies this year, and especially with their supervisors and section heads, in improving grievance processes.
Human resource (HR) managers are not always at fault, said Madam Halimah. Most of the time, it is the line supervisors who have direct contact with the worker.
The alliance's focus is also a good opportunity for companies to engage their employees and address their concerns, she said.
Unionised and big companies like multinationals - rather than small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - tend to have grievance processes systems in place.
At the same time, SMEs account for the majority of employers in Singapore, said Ms Annie Yap, managing director of recruitment firm AYP Associates.
Tafep will also educate the public on how they can support fair employment practices and adopt a more holistic approach in promoting responsible employment practices.
It will develop new research and training for managing mature workers to give employers who hire older workers more support.
Employees MediaCorp spoke to welcomed the news. "Contract staff work as hard as permanent staff and deliver results but we don't get the same benefits as full-timers," saidMs Rozita Tahir.
The 38-year-old IT administrator lamented the absence of a grievance-handling system for such staff. She had approached her manager for a transfer because she could not get along with a co-worker.
She was assured of a transfer but it did not go through and she was laid off instead. Despite being told it was not due to her performance at work, Ms Rozita could not get a "satisfactory answer" for her termination.
Mr Andrew Phua also wishes for the in-employment practices at his company to be better.
The 40-year-old marketing manager of an audio equipment company has a niggling suspicion that his boss gives a younger colleague more attractive assignments. "He gets to go to Europe and America, while I travel within the region," he said. "(But) it's hard to raise this issue as the HR person is his relative and not a neutral party."
- TODAY newspaper
"These could be unhappiness over benefits, salary or assignment of work, but we're focusing on discriminatory practices," said Madam Halimah Yacob, the co-chairperson for the Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices (Tafep).
For instance, women with young children complain that they do not get as much in bonuses or miss out on a promotion because they are unable to put in overtime. Or an older employee, who despite his skills and energy, is passed over for promotion because the manager favours youth.
"However, these problems can be solved at the company level with an effective grievance-handling mechanism in place," said Madam Halimah. "It need not escalate and be brought up to Tafep."
As such, Tafep plans to work with 50 companies this year, and especially with their supervisors and section heads, in improving grievance processes.
Human resource (HR) managers are not always at fault, said Madam Halimah. Most of the time, it is the line supervisors who have direct contact with the worker.
The alliance's focus is also a good opportunity for companies to engage their employees and address their concerns, she said.
Unionised and big companies like multinationals - rather than small and medium enterprises (SMEs) - tend to have grievance processes systems in place.
At the same time, SMEs account for the majority of employers in Singapore, said Ms Annie Yap, managing director of recruitment firm AYP Associates.
Tafep will also educate the public on how they can support fair employment practices and adopt a more holistic approach in promoting responsible employment practices.
It will develop new research and training for managing mature workers to give employers who hire older workers more support.
Employees MediaCorp spoke to welcomed the news. "Contract staff work as hard as permanent staff and deliver results but we don't get the same benefits as full-timers," saidMs Rozita Tahir.
The 38-year-old IT administrator lamented the absence of a grievance-handling system for such staff. She had approached her manager for a transfer because she could not get along with a co-worker.
She was assured of a transfer but it did not go through and she was laid off instead. Despite being told it was not due to her performance at work, Ms Rozita could not get a "satisfactory answer" for her termination.
Mr Andrew Phua also wishes for the in-employment practices at his company to be better.
The 40-year-old marketing manager of an audio equipment company has a niggling suspicion that his boss gives a younger colleague more attractive assignments. "He gets to go to Europe and America, while I travel within the region," he said. "(But) it's hard to raise this issue as the HR person is his relative and not a neutral party."
- TODAY newspaper
Jan 13, 2010
Home Team to recruit 2,000
MORE than 2,000 job vacancies will be on offer at a three-day career fair to be held by the Ministry of Home Affairs at Marina Square Central from Friday to Sunday.
The Home Team is looking to fill positions of police, Immigration, Prisons and Narcotics officers, as well as emergency response specialists and Internal Security Officers, among others.
At the fair, there will also be displays and demonstrations of various operational capabilities and equipment, such as the Firebike, Hazmat detectors and musical CPR from the Singapore Civil Defence Force. The Traffic Police will also be showing off its motorbike while the Prison Service will give a weapons display.
Details of the vacancies are available on the Home Team career microsite at www.hometeam.sg.
- The Straits Times
The Home Team is looking to fill positions of police, Immigration, Prisons and Narcotics officers, as well as emergency response specialists and Internal Security Officers, among others.
At the fair, there will also be displays and demonstrations of various operational capabilities and equipment, such as the Firebike, Hazmat detectors and musical CPR from the Singapore Civil Defence Force. The Traffic Police will also be showing off its motorbike while the Prison Service will give a weapons display.
Details of the vacancies are available on the Home Team career microsite at www.hometeam.sg.
- The Straits Times
Jan 8, 2010
Banks on hiring drive
A FLURRY of hiring is underway at many banks in Singapore, reversing the bloodletting of last year when the global financial crisis took a harsh toll on jobs.
More than 1,000 staff are being hired by banks, poised to cash in on the expected return of the good times. This is based on a check of banks by The Straits Times.
Many of the jobs are senior positions but entry level jobs are on offer too.
- The Straits Times
More than 1,000 staff are being hired by banks, poised to cash in on the expected return of the good times. This is based on a check of banks by The Straits Times.
Many of the jobs are senior positions but entry level jobs are on offer too.
- The Straits Times
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