SINGAPORE - Singapore's labour market took a hit from tightened Covid-19 restrictions in the second quarter of this year, as retrenchments rose slightly compared with the first quarter, and more people were placed on short work weeks or temporary layoffs.
There were 2,340 layoffs in the second quarter, an uptick from the 2,270 in the first quarter, according to the labour market report released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Wednesday (Sept 15).
In the first half of the year, there were 4,620 retrenchments. This translates to 2.3 retrenchments among every 1,000 employees.
"These were comparable to the half-yearly levels seen in 2018 to 2019," MOM said.
Earlier this month, MOM announced that firms with at least 10 employees will have to notify the ministry each time they retrench any staff under new requirements that will kick in on Nov 1.
Currently, these employers need to notify MOM only when they retrench five or more employees within a six-month period.
The latest quarterly labour market report also noted that more employees, particularly those in food and beverage services (F&B), were placed on short work weeks or temporary layoffs in the second quarter.
The F&B sector was hit by stricter measures during the phase 2 (heightened alert) period from May 16 to June 13 when dining in was suspended to curb the spread of Covid-19.
A total of 5,580 employees were placed on such temporary work arrangements in the second quarter, an increase from the 4,020 from January to March.
"While the number remained elevated compared with pre-pandemic times, the prevalence of such temporary work arrangements helped to keep retrenchments relatively low in the first half of 2021," MOM said.
On the other hand, seasonally adjusted unemployment rates continued their downward trend in June, with the unemployment rate standing at 3.7 per cent for citizens and 3.5 per cent for residents.
This was revised slightly upwards from 3.8 per cent for citizens and 3.7 per cent for residents in the advanced estimates provided last month.
Overall, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 2.7 per cent in June.
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The resident long-term unemployment rate dipped to 0.9 per cent in June, seasonally adjusted, from the highs of 1.1 per cent recorded in December last year and March this year.
"Notwithstanding these improvements, the unemployment and long-term unemployment rates remain elevated," MOM said.
The time it took for retrenched residents to rejoin the workforce also took a hit in the second quarter.
The six-month re-entry rate among retrenched residents dropped to 64 per cent, from the 66 per cent in the first quarter of this year and the last quarter of 2020.
MOM concluded that "The phase 2 (heightened alert) measures had some impact on the labour market in the second quarter of 2021. Nonetheless, the labour market has largely continued its gradual recovery although it has not fully returned to pre-Covid-19 conditions.
"We expect labour market recovery to continue for the second half of the year, but in an uneven manner across sectors."
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