Please click here if you can't read the newsletter 1st Quarter Newsletter 2021 Hong Kong Budget 2021-22: Employment market China 50% of China retail sales Singapore Employment outlook 2021 Thailand Expanding employment in 2021
SALARY OVERVIEW Hong Kong - China - Singapore - Thailand
Singapore Employment outlook 2021 We have ushered in a New Year and it’s fair to say most were happy to see the back of 2020, although to expect an immediate change in the state of the world was perhaps wishful thinking. But the chance to reset goals for the New Year ahead is always welcome. More recently we have seen the end of the year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac and ushered in the year of the Ox. So will the Ox year prove to be a better year for companies and employees in Singapore?
Firstly, there was positive news on the employment front in the last quarter of 2020 as preliminary estimates show that unemployment continued to dip in December while more residents found jobs. For the second month in a row, in December 2020 the unemployment rate fell to 3.2 per cent from 3.3 per cent in November, according to advanced estimates released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
The resident unemployment rate for Singaporeans and permanent residents fell to 4.4 per cent from 4.6 per cent, while the citizen unemployment rate was down to 4.5 per cent from 4.7 per cent. Resident employment for the full year actually grew by approximately 9,000, still overall employment shrank by approximately 172,000 for the whole of 2020.
Secondly, while Singapore’s Gross domestic Product (GDP) contracted a record 5.8 per cent in 2020, preliminary data released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) showed most industries saw some improvement in the fourth quarter of the year. It was Singapore's first annual contraction since 2001, and its worst recession since independence, however, it reflects an improvement on MTI’s earlier forecasts of a contraction of 6.5-6.0% made in November.
Singapore was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic amid movement restrictions and border closures, with Construction, Aviation and Tourism among the most affected, but its success in containing the spread of the virus and the subsequent lifting of mobility restrictions in the final two quarters helped alleviate the growth slump. On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally adjusted basis, Singapore’s GDP grew by 2.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2020, following the 9.5 per cent expansion between July and September.
Which sectors did best? Manufacturing continued to outperform, expanding 9.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, and 7.1 per cent for the entire year, with Biomedical, Electronics and Precision Engineering clusters, at the forefront.
Which sectors underperformed? The services sector contracted 7.8 per cent for the whole year, but within that Finance, Insurance, Professional Services and Communications did better than Hospitality, Trade and Administrative related industries. The Construction sector was the worst performing sector, contracting 33.7 per cent for the full year. However, the industry appeared to be improving with the rate of contraction easing.
Will this reflect on hiring patterns in the different sectors? It would seem that those in the sectors that were badly effected will likely take a cautious approach to hiring. Many will still qualify for the extended jobs support scheme, so may be encouraged to keep employment levels steady until concrete signs of sectorial improvement. Sectors that have done well over the last year are likely to be more open to hiring as factors such as digitisation and an improving economy encourage hiring growth.
Source: CNA
Singapore's budget 2021 The Singapore Budget 2021 announced on 16 February, with the aptly named theme of "Emerging Stronger Together", is a combination of measures to help families, employees and businesses to assist in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis in the short term, with measures to enhance structural changes for the long term. The Covid-19 Resilience Package is in total worth some SG$11 billion.
From a jobs support perspective there was some good news with the Job Support Scheme (JSS) being extended to the hardest hit sectors, namely Aviation, Aerospace and Tourism sectors. These sectors will have wage support extended by six months from April through to September although the support level will taper off from 30% to 10% in the last three months.
Support for firms in the Arts and Culture, Retail, Built Environment and Food Services sectors will also be extended until June. Other sectors will continue to receive support until March.
From a new hiring perspective, the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package will receive an additional SG$5.4 billion on top of the SG$3 billion allocated to it last year. It is intended to support the hiring of 200,000 locals and provide up to 35,000 training opportunities this year. SG$5.2 billion, will go towards extending the Jobs Growth Incentive that provides wage support for new local hires (both Singaporeans and Singaporean PR’s).
Source: IRAS
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