There Is A Shortage Of Jobs In Singapore

For the first time in four years, Singapore is seeing a dismaying trend for job-seekers.

There aren’t enough open positions for all of the people seeking employment.

Over the past five years, the Monetary Authority of Singapore reported that the job vacancy rate typically held at about 2.8 percent. However, in H2 2015, they saw a 2.6 percent vacancy rate and it dropped again to 2.4 percent in H1 2016.

At the same time, the unemployment rate rose by 2% and layoffs by 2.4%. The vast majority of these positions were in the service industry, with PMETs making up more than 66 percent of layoffs in the first half of the year. PMETS, or professionals, managers, executives, and technicians, also had a more difficult time finding employment after being laid off.

The report, developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, is published twice a year to give an assessment and analysis of Singapore’s economy, which helps make decisions about monetary policy. The most recent report, published in October 2016, spoke to the challenges faced by these PMETs.

The report noted that more than half of the job openings in the first half of the year were pitched to and focused on PMETs as the target employee. However, of the PMETs who were laid-off, only 39.6 percent were able to get back in the workforce within six months of becoming unemployed.

Singapore’s manufacturing industry also felt the brunt of unemployment. Much of this is due the restructuring of operations among multinational corporations. The marine and offshore engineering industry also took a hit, with positions being eliminated because of the low prices of oil.