Analysts are not very optimistic of Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) growth this year, with some predicting that the city-state's jobs market will largely be affected by a slowdown in economic development.
According to Channel News Asia, some economists are expecting the Singaporean jobs market to be further impacted by the country's slowing economy even as there were already significant job cuts during the first quarter.
Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM) revealed earlier this year that during the first quarter, there were around 3,230 layoffs in the jobs market. The number jumped significantly from the previous quarter's retrenchment record of 2,510.
By the second quarter, the city-state saw a massive slump of 0.1 percent in economic expansion. The figures account for a decade-low record that has had global economists worried of how the jobs market will respond.
It is further expected that manufacturing sectors will continue to roll out retrenchments for the rest of the year as Singapore continues to be impacted by the China-U.S. trade war. The city-state has trade deals with both countries.
It's not just the China-U.S. trade war that's been weighing down on Singapore's economy and GDP numbers. Automation has started showing its true colors are many old jobs are becoming obsolete due to artificial intelligence (AI) and big data.
The government announced recently that Singapore will start tightening its policies on foreign manpower quota. The goal is to help boost employment for locals as the city-state continues to find ways to curb the effects of global trade tensions.
Despite darker outlooks for the Singaporean job market, CIMB private banking economist Song Seng Wun noted that there are still some labor segments that prove to be resilient amid the downtrend in employment.
Song said digitalization segments such as fin-tech (financial technology), cybersecurity, and industrial automation, will open many opportunities in the city-state as the government pushes for complete digitization of both services and product-related sectors.
Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said in a Facebook post last week that there are around 60,000 vacant jobs that have yet to be filled in professional and financial services sectors.
Amid potential setbacks in the jobs market, some economists believe the decline in Singapore's GDP will help strengthen the city-state's backbone as it could face bigger challenges in the future.
Labor Chief Ng Chee Meng said on Sunday that the slowdown will actually help the government find ways to further restructure its economic policies. For Ng, companies should encourage their employees to upskill themselves and transform processes for a more competitive stance against employment-related issues.
