This was the mixed picture painted by the latest preliminary figures on jobs released by the Ministry of Manpower yesterday.
The overall seasonally adjusted unemployment rate crept up to 2.3% in September, up from 2.2% in June.The rate for Singaporeans rose to 3.3%, from 3.2%, while the rate for citizens and permanent residents combined rose to 3.2%, from 3.1%. The September rates for citizen and resident unemployment were last reached in June 2017 and March 2017, respectively.Retrenchments rose to 2,900 last quarter, up from 2,320 in the preceding quarter and 2,860 a year ago.
However, total employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, rose by 22,400 from July to September. This is more than three times the growth of 6,200 in the previous quarter, and higher than the growth of 16,700 a year earlier.The growth was mainly in community, social and personal services, professional services and information and communications. — The Straits Times/ANN