Unemployment Rate in Singapore

The percentage of foreigners in Singapore has skyrocketed over the past 15 years and they now make up approximately 40 percent of the total population here. With numerous debates on the issue of foreign talent displacing Singaporeans from their jobs, we decide to look into the numbers and see what they have to say. At the same time, our government has put certain measures in place to protect Singaporeans – we see if this is sufficient.

Overall unemployment rate

The overall unemployment rate measures the percentage of the labour force that is unemployed but actively seeking employment and willing to work. The unemployment rate is a very direct economic indicator of how well Singapore is doing, and the lower the number, the better. Do note that it is economically impossible to have 0% unemployment rate.

source: Ministry of Manpower

The information presented in the chart above shows that Singapore has maintained an annual unemployment rate at approximately the 2% mark since 2010. To determine how healthy this figure is, we cross-reference it to some other developed cities and countries around the world.

The chart below shows illustrates the unemployment rate for some developed states and countries in year 2014.

sources: U.S. Bureau of Labour statistics
               Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong
               Statistics Bureau, Japan
                data.london.gov.uk

With reference to the above data, we can see that Singapore enjoys a lower level of unemployment. And looking further forward, Singapore has been able to maintain the average unemployment rate at about 1.9% for the first two quarters of 2015.

Also worth mentioning is that in 2009, despite the global financial crisis, our unemployment rate stayed at a robust 3.0%.

Unemployment rate for residents

But we always hear complaints that foreign workers are robbing Singaporean of their jobs?

The whole country’s unemployment rate aside, we now take a look at what matters more – the unemployment rate of just Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents only.

source: Ministry of Manpower

From the above table, we noticed that the unemployment rate for Singapore citizens and Permanent Residents is slightly higher than that of the overall data.

But before we jump to any conclusions, we can see that the unemployment rate has stood at a healthy range of less than 3% since 2011. This is still a healthy figure for Singapore.

It does make sense that the figures for the Resident unemployment rate is higher that the Overall unemployment rate. This is because most foreigners coming into Singapore have probably secured a job in the country already.

Hence, the difference between the percentage of the overall unemployment rate is normal, since most foreigners will only, and from a policy stand point, should only, relocate to Singapore when they have found a job here.

So are foreign talents robbing Singaporeans of their jobs? The numbers simply does not show it, although we admit that it may not be the only indicator we should use. Also the figures alone will not show other aspects such as wage suppression or progression opportunities.

Are there enough jobs created in Singapore?

source: Ministry of Manpower

Are there enough jobs created in Singapore? Definitely, yes.

The above table indicates that in 2014, for every unemployed person, there was 1.39 jobs to choose from. This indicates that there are more job vacancies than unemployed persons and lead us to believe that the unemployment rate might be due to a personal choice. Again, we cannot determine if this the only indicator as it could be that Singaporeans from higher paying jobs were retrenched and only lower paying jobs were being offered. All we can see is that, if an unemployed person wanted to be in employment, there were 1.39 jobs available.

What the numbers will not show?

With all the numbers indicating a highly robust jobs market, we will like to summarise some of the problems that might have been felt by Singaporeans which may not be reflected by just the numbers.

Issues such as quality of the jobs, remuneration of the jobs, progression opportunities in the jobs and other will come to mind. Singaporeans live in Singapore, now and will retire here. Whereas, we realise that foreigners have the options to go back to their home countries and enjoy a lower cost of living.

An example will be a foreigner displacing a middle-aged Singaporean holding an executive-level job. This Singaporean will ultimately land himself in another job, for example, to be a taxi driver, that will fetch a far lower salary and will not utilise his expertise. His standard of living will drop and on an intangible level, his morale will be crushed. But if we were to look at the unemployment rate, it would not have changed, as he would still be in a job.

Ultimately, unemployment is a very subjective and delicate issue. What is definitely true though, is that Singapore has delivered very good report card in terms of unemployment rate when compared to most of the countries and we would like to keep it that way. The number may appear impressive, but ultimately it is up to Singaporeans to judge base on their daily encounters.

Your country, your vote, your choice.

This is the sixth article of a series of 8 articles that will discuss Singapore’s economic indicators to help voters make an informed decision in the upcoming election. DollarsAndSense.sg is neither affiliated with any political party nor a political website.

source of picture

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