SINGAPORE, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Ministry of Manpower said on Friday that the country's total employment grew at a slower pace in the second quarter of this year, compared to the previous quarter and the same period of last year.
The ministry said in its Labour Market Report Advance Release that Singapore's employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, increased by only 4,000 in the second quarter of 2019, compared to the revised 10,700 in the previous quarter and 6,500 in the year-earlier period.
Meanwhile, the retrenchments in the second quarter was 2,300, which was lower than the 3,230 in the preceding quarter and the 3,030 in a year ago.
According to the ministry, the slow-down of total employment increase and the decline in retrenchments suggest that most employers are not laying off existing workers, but exercising greater caution in hiring even when they have unfilled vacancies.
As a result, resident and citizen unemployment rates continued to inch upwards, it added.
The ministry said that Singapore's seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate was unchanged at 2.2 percent in June, while the unemployment rate rose over the quarter for residents and citizens to 3.1 percent and 3.3 percent, respectively.