BROAD IMPROVEMENT IN LABOUR MARKET BY 4Q2020, BUT KEEPING OUR EYES ON THE ROAD AHEAD

The Ministry of Manpower released the Labour Market Report 2020 today. Our labour market has turned a corner - resident employment continued to grow firmly in 4Q 2020, unemployment rates have fallen since November and retrenchment is down after 5 consecutive quarters of increase. 

However, we cannot underestimate the risks that lie in the months ahead. We are not yet opening our borders fully, and for an externally-connected economy like ours, this will continue to weigh on our economy, especially in the aviation and hospitality sectors. With changes to industries brought about by COVID-19, jobs-skills mismatches will also continue to be an issue that we will need to tackle.

Looking ahead, our priority must be to ensure that employers and every segment of the workforce emerge stronger from this pandemic. We will continue our efforts to help workers upskill, find their career progression path and match them to good jobs though government programmes such as the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. For employers, we will support them in their business transformation efforts.

During my visit to Giant today, I saw how they used technology to understand the buying behaviour of consumers. As a result, the nature of work has similarly transformed – employees are no longer purely in back-end or customer-facing roles. Instead, their roles are now an amalgamation of both, and more importantly, where they can see the potential of a career. I also met 26-year-old Jonathan, who was initially unsure about joining the retail sector when he graduated. He decided to give it a try and took up a role under the SGUnited Traineeships Programme. After 6 months, he was converted to a permanent role in HR. 

There is much more to be done, and we will continue to focus on boosting hiring and bringing down unemployment.