Total employment, excluding foreign domestic workers, contracted by 19,900 in the January to March period. This was due to a significant reduction in foreign employment, the Ministry of Manpower said in its quarterly update, Channel News Asia reports. During the SARS outbreak, total employment fell by 24,000 in the second quarter of 2003. Among Singapore citizens, the unemployment rate climbed from 3.3 to 3.5 percent, and among residents, from 3.2 percent to 3.3 percent. During SARS, the overall unemployment rate was 4.8 percent in September 2003; during the global financial crisis, it was 3.3 percent in September 2009.

Source: The Standard April 29, 2020 08:26 UTC