With significant job gains among women and older residents, Singapore’s employment figures have reached a record high this year. Findings from a Manpower Ministry Labour Force Survey showed that as of June, 62.6% of the resident population, or 1.9 million people, aged 15 and above were employed. The figure was the highest ever recorded since the survey began in 1991.
The employment rate for women in the prime-working age of 25 to 49 rose to a new high of 70.8 per cent this year, while that for older residents aged 55 to 64 reached the highest ever of 56.2 per cent.
The employment rate for those aged 25 to 64 also edged up, from 75.5 per cent a year ago to a new record of 76.5 per cent. Of the 1,918,000 employed, 1,100,100 were men and 818,100 women. Continuing a trend from 10 years ago, most jobs created for residents went to professionals, managers, executives and technicians.
Amid the tight labour market, the median monthly income for full-timers rose over the year by 7.7 per cent to S$2,330 in June 2007. But this was still lower than the wage increases which averaged 9.5 per cent from 1996 to 1998.
But the challenge remained in enhancing the long-term employability of older workers amid a volatile economic environment.
The survey found that the workforce was rapidly ageing, with slightly over half of the economically active residents aged 40 years and above. This compared with 33 per cent in 1991. Among the ageing workers, 25 per cent were at least 50 years old, compared with 13 per cent in 1991. More comprehensive data will be released in the annual labour force publication by 31 January next year.
I feel that it is important to reduce the dependency ratio especially in resources locked countries such as Singapore. This can be done by re-employing, re-education and also re-training of older citizens and also encourage greater flexibility in working arrangements. By doing so, Singapore gains another important pool of resources — her own citizens and not such much dependent on the foreign talents.
Information from ChannelNewsAsia
Filed under: Society | Tagged: Aging, Employment, Employment Rate, Record, Resources, Singapore
[...] Discourse – Insights on Movements In Singapore: Job Rate Hits New High – Simply Jean: Rejoice! Highest pay jump since 1998 / Is that why no Singaporean wants to be a [...]
yah, like making oldies climbing rocks cool.