Coronavirus: Singapore’s Q2 retrenchments spike, surpassing Sars levels
- The city state recorded 6,700 lay-offs in the second quarter, higher than during the 2003 Sars epidemic but lower than the 12,760 seen during the 2009 Global Financial Crisis
- Analysts say the figures may worsen as government subsidies for businesses expire
The city state recorded 6,700 lay-offs in June, double the 3,220 seen in March, preliminary figures by the Manpower Ministry showed. The second-quarter numbers surpass the 5,510 retrenchments reported during the Sars epidemic in the second quarter of 2003, but are lower than the 12,760 in the second quarter of 2009.
The jobless rate also rose to a decade-high 2.9 per cent, from 2.4 per cent in March. The ministry noted that this was just below the 3.3 per cent unemployment rate seen in 2009, and the record 4.8 per cent that followed the Sars epidemic.
The city state’s manufacturing, services and construction sectors saw sharper employment contraction and higher retrenchments, said the manpower ministry, pointing to the weakened global economy and how some countries are experiencing a second wave of coronavirus infections.
It noted that conditions for travel-related sectors remained challenging and safe-distancing measures also meant that recovery would be “moderate”.
“Hence, softness in the labour market is likely to persist with continued weakness in hiring and pressure on companies to retrench,” the ministry said.
Excluding foreign domestic workers, total employment, which incorporates both job losses and creation, contracted by 121,800 in the second quarter, four times more than in the first quarter, said the ministry.