Singapore’s unemployment rate increases, Illustrative image (Photo source: asianews.network)

Singapore - The number of retrenchments and unemployed residents in Singapore rose in the third quarter of 2023 as a weaker economic outlook dragged down sectors such as wholesale trade, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM)'s statistics.

Retrenchments rose by 900, from 3,200 in the second quarter to 4,100 in the third quarter, with the majority of the increase from wholesale trade. It is the second-largest sector in Singapore’s economy, making up 18.6 per cent of nominal gross domestic product in 2022 and employing more than 300,000 people by December 2022.

The sharp increase in retrenchments reflects the weaker external outlook the sector faced, the MOM said.

The 11,120 retrenchments in 2023 to date is almost double the 6,440 recorded in the whole of 2022.

There were 68,000 unemployed residents, comprising Singaporeans and permanent residents, in September, up more than 3 per cent from the 65,600 recorded in June.