Quick recovery last year for job market

From The Straits Times
By Su-Ann Chia
Published 29 Jan 2010

THE job market made a swift recovery between June and September last year, mirroring the economy's turnaround by recording a sharp rise in job vacancies.

After a dismal first-half outlook last year, vacancies rose from 24,500 in June to 34,900 in September.

Sales and service workers were most in demand - the result of new malls opening, and ahead of the two integrated resorts starting operations.

These and other details were contained in the Manpower Ministry's Jobs Vacancy Report 2009 released yesterday.

The report also noted that almost three in 10 job openings in some sectors were not filled for at least six months.

These tended to be lower-skilled positions such as security guards, sales assistants, waiters and construction labourers.

For executives, the largest proportion of unfilled jobs was for computer engineers, network and computer systems administrators, and mechanical engineering technicians.

Even though the number of jobs going a-begging was similar to levels in 2008, analysts said it could signal problems that need sorting out.

Jobs were plentiful in 2008, hence it was no surprise that many positions were vacant for months. But when the economic crisis last year led to a job crunch and a greater number of unemployed, people were expected to snap up jobs when these became available.

Not all did so. Analysts said this could reflect a mismatch between the type of jobs available and the skill levels or expectations of job seekers.

Mr Josh Goh, assistant director of corporate services at recruitment firm The GMP Group, said some laid-off executives had no intention of downgrading to a job in the service sector and still looked for similar white-collar jobs.

The other reason for the mismatch: fewer people with the right skills to fill the surge in vacancies.

Said labour MP Halimah Yacob: 'If these jobs offer low pay, it will be more difficult to attract people.'

Relating a conversation she had with a cleaner whose salary went up by only $50 in five years to $750, she said: 'We must do something to motivate them to do better, so we can pay them better.'

The jobs mismatch is also evident from other figures in MOM's annual report.

As Singapore's labour force becomes better educated, analysts said there should have been more - not fewer - vacancies for higher-skilled workers.

Instead, the proportion of vacancies for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) fell from 48 per cent in 2008 to 44 per cent last year.

This was due to a growing number of jobs which required lower qualifications, while the number of white-collar positions shrank.

For instance, vacancies for sales and service workers chalked up the highest rise last year - up by 1,200 vacancies to 7,260. But openings for professionals dipped the most: down by 1,240 vacancies to 6,240.

The drop in PMET openings explains why degree holders, in particular, were hardest hit in last year's downturn, as more stayed jobless for longer.

Another trend was the shift towards the growing service sector, which generated three in four of the job vacancies.

Demand was led by community, social and personal services, which saw more than 2,000 openings for teaching professionals, and wholesale trade services, which needed more than 1,000 shop assistants.

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