Singapore Unemployment Rate Falls Slightly In Nov
SINGAPORE – The latest statistics from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed that the city-state’s unemployment rate fell marginally in November 2022 and hovered at around pre-COVID levels, reported The Business Times on Monday noon (9 January, SGT).
According to the Ministry, the overall unemployment rate in Singapore inched down from 2 percent in October to 1.9 percent in November 2022.
As for citizen unemployment rate, it edged down from 3 percent to 2.9 percent over the same period. On the other hand, resident unemployment rate remained unchanged at 2.8 percent.
The Ministry of Manpower disclosed that the number of unemployed Singapore residents dropped in November to 65,700. Of this, 58,800 are Singapore citizens.
Notably, MOM started publishing monthly unemployment rates during the coronavirus outbreak from August 2020 and the ministry continues to do so. Previously, the government agency only released such data every 3 months.
“As the labour market remains tight, we expect the resident unemployment situation to hold steady,” forecasted the Ministry. Despite this, the government agency expects short-term fluctuations as Singapore’s unemployment rates have already hit a steady state.
“These (fluctuations) are likely to be frictional in nature, reflecting voluntary movements in and out of jobs and the labour force,” added the Ministry.
