TALENT MARKET UPDATESINGAPORE Q2 2017

RESIDENT UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

3.1% 3,640 REDUNDANCIES, DOWN FROM 4,000 IN Q1

2.2% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN JUNE 2017, UNCHANGED FROM MARCH 2017

CITIZEN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

3.3%

UNEMPLOYMENT UNCHANGED / Overall unemployment was unchanged in June 2017 from March

2017, remaining at 2.2%. Total employment fell by 7,300 in Q2, following a decline of 6,800 in Q1.

Construction lost 10,500 jobs while manufacturing lost 3,600. The service sector gained 7,000 jobs.

3,640 workers were made redundant in Q2, with layoffs in manufacturing, construction and services

decreasing from Q1.

Source: www.mom.gov.sg

Kelly Services (S) Pte Ltd (A PERSOLKELLY Company)

2

Seasonally adjusted unemployment rates remained unchanged at 2.2% in June 2017 compared to March 2017. Resident and citizen unemployment rates declined to 3.1% and 3.3%, respectively.

In June 2017, there were approximately 70,800 residents, including 63,800 citizens, who were unemployed, a decrease from the 74,400 residents and 67,100 citizens in March 2017.

Total employment decreased by 7,300 in Q2, after decreasing 6,800 in Q1. Total employment stands at 3,659,000.

SINGAPORE QUARTERLY EMPLOYMENT CHANGE AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES

Source: Ministry of Manpower, Singapore

0

20

-20

40

60

80

Sep

201

3

Jun

2013

Dec

201

3

Mar

201

4

Jun

2014

Sep

201

4

Dec

201

4

Mar

201

5

Jun

2015

Sep

201

5

Dec

201

5

Mar

201

6

Jun

2016

Sep

201

6

Dec

201

6

Mar

201

7

Jun

2017

Emp

loym

ent

(000

s)

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

Unm

plo

ymen

t (%

)

Employment Resident unempoymentCitizen unempoyment

3

REDUNDANCIES TOTAL EMPLOYMENT CHANGETOTAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

Q1

2016

Q2

2016

Q3

2016

Q4

2016

Q1

2017

Q2

2017

Q1

2016

Q2

2016

Q3

2016

Q4

2016

Q1

2017

Q2

2017

Q1

2016

Q2

2016

Q3

2016

Q4

2016

Q1

2017

Q2

2017

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

5,000

5,500

1.6%

1.5%

1.7%

1.8%

1.9%

2.0%

2.1%

2.2%

2.3%

2.4%

2.5%

0

10

-10

20

30

40

50

Q1

2016

Q2

2016

Q3

2016

Q4

2016

Q1

2017

Q2

2017

Q1

2016

Q2

2016

Q3

2016

Q4

2016

Q1

2017

Q2

2017

Q1

2016

Q2

2016

Q3

2016

Q4

2016

Q1

2017

Q2

2017

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

5,000

5,500

1.6%

1.5%

1.7%

1.8%

1.9%

2.0%

2.1%

2.2%

2.3%

2.4%

2.5%

0

10

-10

20

30

40

50

Q1

2016

Q2

2016

Q3

2016

Q4

2016

Q1

2017

Q2

2017

Q1

2016

Q2

2016

Q3

2016

Q4

2016

Q1

2017

Q2

2017

Q1

2016

Q2

2016

Q3

2016

Q4

2016

Q1

2017

Q2

2017

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

4,500

5,000

5,500

1.6%

1.5%

1.7%

1.8%

1.9%

2.0%

2.1%

2.2%

2.3%

2.4%

2.5%

0

10

-10

20

30

40

50

Source: Ministry of Manpower, Singapore

Employment growth was negative in manufacturing and construction but positive for services. Employment in manufacturing continued to fall, by 3,600, the 11th consecutive quarter of contraction. Employment in construction also shrank, dropping by 10,500 workers, after falling 12,500 the previous quarter. The services sector however grew by 7,000 workers, slower than 10,000 in the previous quarter.

Redundancy fell in Q1 with 3,640 workers made redundant compared to 4,000 in the previous quarter.

The services sector accounted for 2,330 or 64% of all redundancies, a decrease from 2,440 workers the previous quarter. Layoffs declined in manufacturing to 840 from 890, the lowest since 2Q 2014, and also decreased for construction to 470 from 660.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 23.1% of all redundancies while the construction sector accounted for 12.9%.

4

EMPLOYMENT MARKET WRAP

The latest labour market figures, which the Manpower Ministry released last week, are heartening for workers and job seekers, as they indicate things are starting to look up on the jobs front.

After last year’s glum news on increased retrenchments and fewer job vacancies, the slight improvements in this year’s second-quarter job data is a welcome glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Retrenchments and resident unemployment are down, while more job openings are available.

And as economic growth this year is expected to be better than last year, demand for workers will, in turn, rise. But it will be confined largely to workers with specific skills in the growth industries. For instance, therapists and nurses are in great demand in the healthcare sector.

BETTER PROSPECTS FOR SOME WORKERS

Source: The Straits Times Date: 18 September 2017

Source: Bloomberg Date: 6 September 2017

SINGAPORE FACES A GRIM LABOUR FUTURE AS POPULATION AGES RAPIDLY

While Japan had the biggest slump in its workforce in Asia over the last 10 years, Singapore has the most to fear from an aging population over the next two decades.

The city state will face a double whammy: a shrinking workforce and slower progress than Asian neighbors in getting more people into the labor market. According to a new study from Oxford Economics, Singapore’s labor supply growth – after accounting for changes to the participation rate – will shrink by 1.7 percentage points in the 10 years through 2026 and by 2.5 percentage points in the decade after that. That’s the worst of a dozen economies in a report by Louis Kuijs, the Hong Kong-based head of Asia economics at Oxford.

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As a global leader in providing workforce solutions, Kelly Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB) and its subsidiaries, offer a comprehensive array of outsourcing and consulting services as well as world-class staffing on a temporary, temporary-to-hire, and direct-hire basis. Kelly® directly employs nearly 500,000 people around the world in addition to having a role in connecting thousands more with work through its global network of talent suppliers and partners. Revenue in 2016 was $5.3 billion.

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ABOUT PERSOLKELLY

PERSOLKELLY is one of the largest recruitment companies in Asia Pacific providing comprehensive end-to-end HR solutions. We partner and support our customers in recruiting and retaining the best talent.

Headquartered in Singapore and with presence spanning 13 countries in Asia Pacific, PERSOLKELLY is a combination of resources and operational expertise of its eight brands i.e., Kelly Services, Capita, Intelligence, IGS Asia, P-Serv, BTI Consultants, First Alliances and EVO.

PERSOLKELLY is a joint venture between PERSOL Holdings (previously Temp Holdings), Japan’s second largest recruitment firm and Kelly Services, a global leader in workforce solutions.

For more information, please visit www.persolkelly.com

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