Singapore Q2 unemployment rate rises as weak global economy dampens hiring

Unemployment in Singapore during the second quarter rose, following weak global economy that dampened hiring across the nation.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Singapore went up to 2.1 percent in June this year, a slight increase from the 1.9 percent in March, preliminary data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed Thursday.

The unemployment rate among Singapore residents went up to 3 percent, from 2.7 percent in the previous quarter. For Singapore citizens, the rate rose to 3.1 percent, from 2.6 percent previously. The city-state added 5,500 new jobs between April and June, compared with 13,000 in the previous quarter and 9,700 in the second quarter of 2015, data showed.

Further, the ministry data showed that some almost 5,500 workers were sacked during the second quarter of 2016, up from 4,710 in the first quarter and 3,250 a year ago. In addition, manufacturing sector witnessed a fall in worker lay-offs over the same quarter, while the same increased in services and remained almost unchanged in the construction sector.

Meanwhile, Singapore's total employment in June 2016 reached 3,674,700. This was 1.3 percent higher than a year ago period. However, this matched with the 1.4 percent rise in March 2016, but slower than the average growth of about 2 percent in 2015.