SINGAPORE, June 15 (Xinhua): Singapore's unemployment rate in the first quarter remained low, showing that the labour market continues to be tight, the Ministry of Manpower said in a report on Friday.
The seasonally adjusted overall jobless rate was 2 per cent in March this year, up from 1.8 per cent in December, according to the labour market report.
The jobless rate among the residents also climbed from 2.7 per cent to 2.9 per cent, while the jobless rate among the citizens went up to 3 per cent from 2.8 per cent.
However, the report said that it could reflect increased job search activity as more residents, especially the less educated, were encouraged to enter the labour force, given more job openings and an increase in wages that came with the tightening of foreign manpower controls.
Singapore has tightened its foreign manpower policies since around the general elections in 2011.
Total employment grew by 28,300 in the first quarter, lower than the seasonally high increase of 40,600 in the last quarter of 2013 but broadly comparable to the 28,900 in the first quarter of 2013. This brought total employment to 3,552,200 in March, which was 4 per cent higher than a year ago.
The seasonally adjusted job vacancies rose for the third consecutive quarter, though the rate of increase over the quarter moderated to 3 per cent in March from 9.2 per cent in December.
Singapore jobless rate remains low
FE Team | Published: June 16, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like