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Labour Force

Mid-Year

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2007a

2008

2009

2010

2011

Total Labour Force ('000)

2,330.5

2,320.6

2,312.3

2,341.9

n.a.

2,594.1

2,750.5

2,710.3

2,939.9

3,030.0

3,135.9

3,237.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Resident Labour Force ('000)

1,644.3

1,667.9

1,706.4

1,733.4

n.a.

1,880.8

1,918.1

1,878.0

1,928.3

1,985.7

2,047.3

2,080.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Educational Composition (%)

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

n.a.

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

      No Formal Qualification / Lower Primary

13.0

12.2

11.8

11.8

n.a.

10.6

10.7

10.8

10.1

10.2

7.8

7.2

      Primary

5.8

5.7

5.3

4.4

n.a.

5.1

4.3

4.4

3.5

3.5

5.3

5.4

      Lower Secondary

13.9

13.9

13.5

13.7

n.a.

12.6

12.7

12.7

10.6

10.5

9.2

8.9

      Secondary

27.8

27.3

25.9

24.8

n.a.

24.3

23.9

24.0

23.5

24.3

20.0

20.2

      Post-Secondary (Non-Tertiary)

9.1

9.1

8.9

8.8

n.a.

8.6

8.8

8.8

9.6

7.8

12.0

11.8

      Diploma & Professional Qualification

13.4

13.4

14.1

14.9

n.a.

15.4

16.0

16.0

16.8

16.9

18.1

18.2

      Degree

17.0

18.5

20.4

21.6

n.a.

23.4

23.7

23.3

25.8

26.7

27.6

28.3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Median Age (Years)

38.0

39.0

39.0

40.0

n.a.

40.0

40.0

41.0

41.0

41.0

41.0

42.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Labour Force Participation Rate (%)

64.4

63.6

63.2

63.3

n.a.

65.0

65.1

65.0

65.6

65.4

66.2

66.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Last updated:
 31 January 2012 | Source: Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, MOM
Latest figures published in: Report on Labour Force in Singapore




  1. Data are for mid-year.
  2. Labour force participation rate is defined as the percentage of economically active persons to the population aged fifteen years & over.
  3. Residents refer to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents.
  4. n.a. = not available
  5. Data for 2000 and 2005 are not available as the Comprehensive Labour Force Survey was not conducted in these years due to the conduct of the General Household Survey 2005 and the Census of Population 2000 by the Department of Statistics, Ministry of Trade and Industry. Please refer to the website at http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/pubn.html for findings from these sources.
  6. To facilitate comparison with 2008 onwards, the 2007 data have been adjusted based on Singapore Department of Statistics' revised population estimates (released in February 2008) which exclude Singapore residents who have been away from Singapore for a continuous period of 12 months or longer. Adjusted data for 2007 are denoted by the symbol a.


Number of Economically Active Persons Aged Fifteen Years and Over
Last Updated: 31 January 2012 | Format: xlsx | Size: 22 kb

Economically Active Residents by Highest Qualification Attained and Sex
Last Updated: 31 January 2012 | Format: xlsx | Size: 18 kb

Age-Sex Specific Resident Labour Force Participation Rate
Last Updated: 31 January 2012 | Format: xlsx | Size: 34 kb

Age-Sex Specific Resident Labour Force Participation Rate
Last Updated: 31 January 2012 | Format: pdf | Size: 15 kb

Distribution of Resident Labour Force by Education
Last Updated: 31 January 2012 | Format: pdf | Size: 9 kb

Economic Status of Resident Population (Dynamic Chart)
(SVG Viewer is required to view this chart. Click here for free SVG Viewer download.)
Last Updated: 31 January 2012

Source

Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, MOM

Coverage

The survey covers private households on the main island of Singapore. It excludes workers living in construction worksites, dormitories and workers' quarters at the workplace and persons commuting from abroad to work in Singapore. Estimates of the total labour force are derived by combining data on residents (also known as locals) obtained from the survey with foreign workforce data compiled from administrative records.

Concepts and Definitions

Labour Force
This refers to persons aged fifteen years and over who are either employed (i.e. Working) or unemployed (i.e. Available and actively looking for work) during the reference period. This group is also known as the economically active population.

Educational Attainment
This refers to the highest level or standard which a person has passed or attained either through attendance at an institution of learning or through correspondence or self-study.

Reference Period
This refers to the week preceding the date of the survey interview.

Employed Persons
This refers to persons aged fifteen years and over who, during the reference period:

  • Work for one hour or more either for pay, profit or family gains; or
  • Have a job or business to return to but are temporarily absent because of illness, injury, breakdown of machinery at workplace, labour management dispute or other reasons.

Members of the Singapore Armed Forces including full-time National Servicemen are included in the persons employed, unless otherwise specified.

 

Unemployed Persons
This refers to persons aged fifteen years and over who are not working but are available for work and are actively looking for a job during the reference period. They include persons who are not working but are taking steps to start their own business or taking up a new job after the reference period.

 

Data Enquiry Service

Users are welcome to consult the department if they require statistics which are not available in our website or publications. Charges may be levied to recover the additional costs incurred in servicing the request.

Please email your enquiry with the following subject heading
"Enquiry to MRSD: <title of request>" to: mom_rsd@mom.gov.sg  

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Last updated on 31 January 2012 09:57:34