Singapore minister urges 'manpower-lean growth'
Unemployment rose to 2.1 per cent and more workers lost their jobs in the second quarter of the year in Singapore, even as employment growth stayed strong, according to a Manpower Ministry (MOM) report released on Wednesday.
Economists said the labour market remains tight – perhaps even too tight, with Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin stressing the need for job growth to slow.
In a Facebook post, he wrote: “We need to moderate employment growth to a more sustainable pace, and encourage companies to move towards manpower-lean growth.”
Employment grew by 32,500 in the second quarter – more than in the quarter before (28,900) and the same period last year (31,700).
This brought total employment to 3.4 million in June, 4 per cent up from a year ago.
