Employment Situation, First Quarter 2014
Unemployment remained low, though it rose slightly
30 April 2014
- Unemployment remained low, despite rising slightly in the first quarter of 2014. Meanwhile, layoffs declined, after rising in the preceding quarter. These are the key findings from the “Employment Situation, First Quarter 2014” report released by the Ministry of Manpower’s Research and Statistics Department.
Main Findings
Unemployment
- Preliminary estimates showed that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose in March 2014 from December 2013 (overall: 2.1% from 1.8%, resident: 2.9% from 2.7%, citizen: 3.0% from 2.8%). Despite the increase, the unemployment rates remained low.
Employment growth
- Total employment grew by 24,900 in the first quarter of 2014, lower than the seasonally high increase of 40,600 in the fourth quarter of 2013. The increase was also lower than the 28,900 in the first quarter of 2013.
- There were 3,518,700 persons in employment in March 2014. This was 3.9% higher than a year ago. This rate of increase over the year was lower than the 4.1% in December 2013.
Redundancy
- Layoffs declined, after rising in the preceding quarter. Some 2,900 workers were made redundant in the first quarter of 2014. This was lower than the 3,660 workers affected in the preceding quarter, but higher than the 2,120 laid off in the first quarter of 2013.
For More Information
- The “Employment Situation, First Quarter 2014” report is available online on the MOM's Statistics and Publications webpage. More comprehensive labour market data will be released in the “Labour Market Report, First Quarter 2014” on 13 June 2014.