Bernama
31st Jan 2008
SINGAPORE, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- Singapore's strong economy created 236,600 new jobs last year, a 34 per cent jump from 2006's 176,000, and reduced unemployment rate in December to a decade low of 1.6 per cent, the government said Thursday.
Figures from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) show that employment grew by 64,200 in the fourth quarter last year, considerably higher than the gains of 51,500 in the same period a year ago, bringing the total employment creation in the whole of 2007 to 236,600.
"The strong economy led to another record-breaking year for employment creation in 2007," China's Xinhua news agency quoted the ministry as saying on Thursday.
Supported by robust job creation, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in December dropped to 1.6 per cent from the previous record of 1.7 per cent in September.
For the whole of 2007, overall unemployment rate averaged 2.1 per cent, down significantly from 2.7 per cent in 2006.
Services saw the largest employment gains, adding 144,100 workers last year.
"Boosted by rapid increase in hiring across a wide range of industries led by financial and professional services," said MOM.
The booming construction sector also added 40,900 workers, double the increase in 2006, while manufacturing employment rose by 49,400, supported by strong manpower demand in marine and offshore engineering.
On retrenchment, the MOM report said initial findings showed that 7,200 workers were laid off last year, the lowest in 14 years.
Manufacturing formed the bulk of retrenchments, followed by services, it said.
Singapore's economy expanded by 7.5 percent last year and the government forecasts this year's growth to range from 4.5 percent to 6.5 percent.
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