Chart of the Day: Virtually zero jobs were created for locals in 2015

Employment growth was weakest since 2009.

Overall employment growth in Singapore dropped drastically in 2015. This chart from Citi shows that only 31,800 jobs were created for the entire year, a far cry from the 130,100 jobs created in 2014. And out of these 31,000 new jobs, virtually zero was for locals.

This caused job redundancies to jump to its highest level since the Global Financial Crisis in the fourth quarter. The poor numbers suggest that there is sluggish demand for higher-wage and cyclical jobs, Citi said.

“Further deterioration in the labour market may be of concern to policymakers. A continued moderation in unit labour costs in 4Q15 suggests wage pressures on core inflation may be milder than earlier anticipated,” Citi said.