Fewer job vacancies in Q3 but still more openings than unemployed people

Strong growth in employment of locals for higher-skilled and higher-paying jobs

- Sharon Salim

Resident employment grew strongly in the third quarter for higher-skilled and higher-paying sectors, and while job vacancies fell, there were still more job openings than unemployed people.

The number of job vacancies in September stood at 63,400, down from 81,200 in June, according to finalized Ministry of Manpower (MOM) data for the third quarter of 2024 released on Dec 9.

The drop reflects a gradual downtrend from the peak of 124,400 in March 2022.

It was driven by the construction, transportation and storage, and manufacturing industries, where more lower-skilled jobs were filled by work permit holders.

Despite the decline, MOM noted there remained more job openings than unemployed people. In September, there were 1.39 job vacancies for every unemployed person, compared with 1.67 in June.

The start of year-end festivities is expected to give a further boost to labour demand, the ministry added.

Post-Covid-19 pandemic, MOM noted that employers might have filled up vacancies more adequately, with more workers staying on in their current jobs, observed by the gradual decline in resignation rate, down from 1.7 per cent in 2022 to 1.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2024.

"The labour market is expected to stay tight with low unemployment; but tightness could ease gradually as more job vacancies are filled and the number of job vacancies, as well as the ratio of job vacancy to unemployed person, continues to adjust towards pre-pandemic levels," MOM said.