S'pore's annual average unemployment rates decline in 2021

Singapore, Jan 28 (IANS) Singapore's Ministry of Manpower announced on Friday that the country's annual average unemployment rates showed significant declines in 2021, with gradual improvement in the unemployment situation throughout the year.But these figures remained about 0.4 percentage points higher than pre-Covid levels, the Ministry added in the Labor Market Advance Release 2021.In a breakdown, the annual average unemployment rate overall in 2021 declined to 2.6 per cent from 3 per cent in 2020, that for residents declined to 3.5 per cent from 4.1 per cent, and that for citizens declined to 3.7 per cent from 4.2 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.The Ministry said the annual figures are the simple averages of the non-seasonally adjusted unemployment figures obtained at quarterly intervals.Last December, Singapore's unemployment rate declined from 2.5 per cent in November 2021 to 2.4 per cent, and that for citizens fell from 3.5 per cent to 3.4 per cent. The unemployment rate for residents remained unchanged at 3.2 per cent in December 2021. Residents here refer to Singapore citizens and permanent residents, according to the Ministry.Singapore's total number of employed people, excluding foreign domestic workers, increased by 40,800 in the whole year of 2021, rebounding from the sharp decline of 166,600 in 2020. In the fourth quarter, Singapore's total employment increased by 47,400 after declining by 2,400 in the previous quarter.In the release, data of December, the fourth quarter and the whole year of 2021 are marked as preliminary estimates.
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