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Fewer jobs will be created in next few years — but quality will rise

SINGAPORE — The Republic will be striving for annual employment growth of between 25,000 and 40,000 in the next three to five years - a far cry from the 100,000 to 120,000 jobs every year not too long ago.

Some 2,400 people turned up at the Adapt And Grow job fair at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport on Wednesday (Feb 8), on the first day of the two-day event, where more than 2,300 jobs in the aviation sector that include food and beverage, retail and security, are available. PHOTO: Ooi Boon Keong/TODAY

Some 2,400 people turned up at the Adapt And Grow job fair at Crowne Plaza Changi Airport on Wednesday (Feb 8), on the first day of the two-day event, where more than 2,300 jobs in the aviation sector that include food and beverage, retail and security, are available. PHOTO: Ooi Boon Keong/TODAY

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SINGAPORE — The Republic will be striving for annual employment growth of between 25,000 and 40,000 in the next three to five years - a far cry from the 100,000 to 120,000 jobs every year not too long ago. 

But Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say said on Wednesday (Feb 8) that the quality of these openings will continue to improve, with the Government ensuring that they “will be better than many of the jobs that we used to create” during the boom years.

Last year, the total number of people in employment grew by just 16,400, the slowest since 2003, based on preliminary estimates. This is a sharp drop from the total employment growth seen between 2010 (115,900) and 2014 (130,100), and the 32,300 seen in 2015.

Economists told TODAY that with far fewer jobs being created now, jobseekers may have to temper their expectations by settling for jobs in locations that are less accessible or those that offer lower wages. 

Mr Lim noted also that the higher unemployment rate last year was a concern, pushed up by factors such as lower jobs growth and an ageing workforce, and efforts would be made to “keep it in check”. The annual average resident unemployment rate, which hovered between 2.7 and 2.8 per cent from 2012 to 2015, stood at 3 per cent last year. 

Outlining the Manpower Ministry’s (MOM) priorities this year at a career fair at Changi Airport on Wednesday, Mr Lim said it would, firstly, strengthen the Professional Conversion Programme (PCP) to give greater focus on mid-level professionals. 

The PCP has helped primarily entry-level professionals, and the MOM was working with the tripartite partners to strengthen it so not only these workers, but also mid-level professionals could be trained to take on new jobs, he said. 

Secondly, the MOM will work to help match more small and medium enterprises with experienced professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).

Under the Career Support Programme, where the Government foots part of the wage bill of employers who hire and retrain mid-level employees who have been retrenched, some employers had concerns that the qualifying salaries were higher than what they could afford, and the duration of government wage subsidy of up to a year was not as long as they would like it to be. 

Finally, while the MOM shores up support for PMETs, it also wants to ensure its employment-support programmes for non-PMETs — including rank-and-file and mature workers — are inclusive, said Mr Lim.

As the economy restructures, the jobs being created will continue to improve. While there will be a shift towards more PMET jobs, Mr Lim said rank-and-file jobs need to be upgraded too, to make them more attractive, productive, safer and better-paying for local workers. 

MOM’s latest job vacancy report showed a drop in the proportion of non-PMET vacancies. Mr Lim said there are more than enough jobs for such workers and the bigger concern was whether these jobs can be transformed fast enough. 

As the quality of jobs improves, Mr Lim said there was a need to minimise the risk of both “missed” matches — jobseekers unfamiliar with where to seek jobs and pursue appropriate skills — and mismatches between jobs and skills.

In 2016, the Government placed more than 15,000 jobseekers who faced “missed” matches into jobs, up from more than 14,000 in 2015. Over the same period, there were more than 4,000 placements for workers with job mismatches, up from about 3,000.

CIMB Private Bank economist Song Seng Wun felt the Government’s jobs growth estimate — 25,000 to 40,000 a year — was “on the low side” but was consistent with moderate economic growth.

He said resident unemployment — which is “still relatively low” at the present rate, compared with other developed economies — will worsen at least until the first half of this year before it goes on the mend. Businesses will be less selective in hiring once they see a sustained improvement in orders.

United Overseas Bank economist Francis Tan said a key question was whether the workforce was ready to take on the jobs that will be added in the next few years. Measures, such as the SkillsFuture movement, were already in place but the hurdle was to get workers on board, he added.

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