Non-residents took the biggest hit when the job market went off the rails during the pandemic, said a new report, which also noted that vacancies shot up in September - the first rise all year.
It found that the total number of people working, excluding foreign domestic workers, fell by 158,700 from January to the end of September. Non-residents made up 139,100 of this, while resident employment shrank by just 19,600, the Ministry of Manpower report said yesterday.
In the third quarter alone, non-resident employment declines were most evident in construction, manufacturing, transportation and storage, and administrative and support services.
Residents lost jobs in the arts, entertainment and recreation sector but took on more positions in public administration and education, health and social services, and information and communications.
There was also a rebound in food and beverage services, reversing two straight quarters of decline.
These tentative steps forward are reflected in an increase in job openings for the first time this tumultuous year.
There were 49,600 job vacancies in September, seasonally adjusted, a huge improvement from the decade-low of 42,400 in June.
This lifted the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed people from 0.57 in June to 0.6 in September, meaning there were six job openings for every 10 job seekers.
There was an increase in positions for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) in sectors like information and communications, professional services, and health and social services.
Non-PMET positions opened up in sectors such as construction, administrative and support services, and manufacturing.
National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay said in a Facebook post: "Nevertheless, our PMEs ... continue to be a group that we must pay attention to. They are a vulnerable group with greater financial burdens and at risk of stagnant skills and career growth.
"As Covid-19 accelerates business transformation, workers including PMEs must continue to upskill and reskill to... move on from the pandemic."
Labour turnover also rose, with recruitment and resignation rates going up in the third quarter to 1.6 per cent, seasonally adjusted. This is in line with the gradual resumption in hiring and voluntary job change as labour market activity picked up, the MOM said.
However, labour turnover remained muted compared with a year ago, it noted.
As activity picked up, the number of workers placed on short working weeks or temporary layoffs in the third quarter fell to 34,240, from about 81,000 in the second quarter.
Resident long-term unemployment rose marginally in September, after dipping in June.
Despite the increase in labour market activity, improvement remains uneven across the various sectors, the MOM added.
Sectors where remote work is more likely showed the most improvement, as well as those that are consumer-facing and benefited from the exit from the circuit breaker.
These include public administration and education, food and beverage services, and information and communications.
Tourism-dependent industries, including accommodation, transportation and storage, and arts, entertainment and recreation, continued to struggle amid the pandemic.
