Wages up 5% as job market powers ahead

Wages up 5% as job market powers ahead

Rise in first quarter is best pay increase in 2 years; spike unlikely to ease off soon

By Sue-Ann Chia

WORKERS in Singapore are going home with fatter wallets as the job market continues to power ahead. Their wages rose by five per cent in the first three months of this year, the best pay increase in two years. Official figures released yesterday show jobs that saw the best pay rises were in the booming real estate and financial services industries. The spike in wages is unlikely to ease off in the immediate future as the talent shortage is expected to continue with more jobs created. There were 32,200 job vacancies as at the end of March, 30 per cent more than a year ago, according to the Manpower Ministry's labour report for this year's first three months. Almost half of them are for white-collar workers, or the group commonly tagged as professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs). Hanging over this sunny job horizon, however, is a dark cloud: Productivity is slipping - it fell by 1.6 per cent, the second drop in a row. In the previous quarter, it declined by 0.7 per cent. The reason is that companies are hiring in anticipation of continued good times. Last month, the National Wages Council had warned employers to ensure that wages do not race ahead of productivity. But for now, the sliding productivity is no cause for alarm, said labour economist Shandre Thangavelu from the National University of Singapore. However, he added: 'If it continues to fall, it will have an impact on Singapore's competitiveness and growth.' Dr Shandre also foresees wage increases easing as more job seekers enter the labour market. In this first quarter, 49,400 new jobs were created, enticing more people to start looking for work again. In all, 17,700 more Singaporeans and permanent residents entered the job market in the first quarter. The rise is the steepest in two years, during which the average annual increase is 10,700 job seekers. With more people looking for jobs, the unemployment rate rose to 2.9 per cent in March, when about 77,000 people were jobless. Last December, the rate was 2.6 per cent. But the pool of people without a job for at least six months remained stable, hovering around 10,100. They form 0.5 per cent of the labour force. These long-term unemployed folk are typically the lower-educated. They are unlikely to fill most of the 32,200 job vacancies in the first three months of this year. In contrast, the PMETs are doing better in getting rehired within six months of being retrenched. The best showing was among university graduates. Their re-employment rate, compared to workers with other qualifications, is 67.6 per cent. This means almost seven out of 10 got a job within six months. The number laid off in the first quarter is 1,964, compared to 3,653 a year ago. The re-employment rate by age group shows the 30-somethings topping the charts, at 65.1 per cent. The ministry report also said that only those in their 40s, compared to other age groups, saw a higher re-employment rate (61.8 per cent) than three months earlier. Mr Allan Lim, 51, found work in March, five months after being retrenched. But it was not an easy job search. He approached recruitment agencies and went for several walk-in interviews. 'I had to moderate my expectations, which helped to get me a job,' said the computer software consultant. His pay now is about 60 per cent of his old salary.