Number of employed individuals up by 41,400 in 2021

This is a rebound from last year’s contraction of 166,600.

The total number of employed individuals in Singapore was up 41,400 last year, reaching 3,397,200 by 31 December 2021. The number excludes migrant domestic workers.

This is a rebound from last year when a contraction of 166,600 was recorded.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) attributed the increase in employment to the “stronger resident employment growth” in 2021.

Resident employment increased by 71,300 in 2021 to 2,443,100.

Across sectors, resident employment growth was seen in Health and Social Services, and Administrative and Support Services.  

The growth in resident employment was also more than enough to offset the non-resident employment decline of 30,000. Non-resident employees made up 28.1% of the total employment figures.

Given the increase in total employment, the unemployment rate for 2021 declined to 2.7% from 3% in 2020.

Meanwhile, the incidence of retrenchment also fell during the year both for residents and non-residents to 6,430 or 5.3 per 1,000 resident employees, and 1,600 or 2.7 per 1,000 non-resident employees.

In a statement, the MOM said it expects the labour market to continue its recovery in 2022, but its pace might be affected by the increased downside risks in the global economic outlook amidst the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

“Barring these uncertainties, the labour market recovery should be sustained in 2022 as business activities continue to pick up. Nonetheless, the pace of recovery may be more gradual since most significant improvements were already experienced in 2021,” the ministry said.