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Oral Answer by Mr Tan Chuan-Jin, Minister for Manpower, to Parliamentary Question on Labour Market

Notice Paper No. 178 Of 2014 For The Sitting On 09 July 2014 Question No. 50 For Oral Answer 

MP: Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong 

To ask the Minister for Manpower in light of the Ministry's Labour Market, First Quarter 2014 report which states that the unemployment rate for citizens has risen to 3% (a) how can this be explained given the tighter labour market and stricter access to foreign manpower; (b) what is the profile of these citizens without jobs; (c) what are the challenges of placing them in jobs; and (d) whether employers have adjusted to the tight labour market by making jobs more attractive with better working conditions, salaries and benefits packages.

Answer
  1. Although the quarterly unemployment rate for citizens rose slightly from 2.8% in December 2013 to 3.0% in March 2014, it remains low and has been largely stable for the past three years.
  2. The slight increase in quarterly unemployment rates could reflect higher job search activity, as higher wages, more vacancies, and greater availability of flexible working arrangements in a tight labour market encourage more citizens to enter the labour market to look for jobs. As the job search process may take some time, some slight increases in quarterly unemployment rates is expected. Slight fluctuations in the unemployment rate are also to be expected across quarters, and we have seen that vary from quarter to quarter over the last several years, but in the main, it has revolved around this band.
  3. The profile of the unemployed is varied. About one in two of the unemployed citizens in March 2014 were aged 40 and over. In terms of educational qualifications, about half had secondary education or below. About one in five is long-term unemployed.
  4. The key challenge faced in helping some of these unemployed Singaporeans find jobs is in ensuring that their skills remain relevant to evolving industry needs. To help them upgrade their skills, we provide generous subsidies for the upgrading of skills through our Continuing Education and Training (CET) system. Jobseekers receive between 70% to 90% course fee subsidies depending on the type of courses1, and we also have Place-and-Train (PnT) programmes to help jobseekers find jobs and pick up the skills they need in their new jobs. Most importantly, individuals must have the right mindset, learn new skills, and be open to different job opportunities in growing industries, and of course we do need to create the conditions for which jobs are created, so the economy needs to be healthy for that to happen.
  5. Second, for economically inactives who are returning to the workforce, being able to find a job that allows them to balance family and care-giving responsibilities is a key concern. We have recently enhanced the Work-Life Grant under the WorkPro scheme to provide greater support to companies to implement and sustain good work-life practices, such as flexible work arrangements.
  6. MOM will continue to monitor the unemployment rate closely and work with tripartite partners to help unemployed Singaporeans find jobs.
1 Jobseekers receive 90% course fee subsidy for rank-and-file courses, and 70% course fee subsidy for PME courses.