Hiring slowed down in Q1 2012
Overall unemployment rate also went up slightly to 2.1% from 2% in the fourth quarter.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore noted:
The labour market added an estimated 27,400 workers in Q1 2012, down from 37,600 in the preceding quarter. This was largely due to the seasonal slowdown in the hospitality-related segments as well as generally weaker hiring sentiments in services and manufacturing.
The manufacturing sector saw net job losses of 500, marking the second consecutive quarter of employment contraction. The services sector expanded headcount by 19,800, which was considerably lower than that in Q1 2011. However, the strong employment expansion of 8,000 in the construction sector provided some offset.
In line with the slower pace of job creation, the seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate rose slightly to 2.1% in Q1 2012, from 2.0% in Q4 2011, while the resident unemployment rate inched up to 3.0% from 2.9% the quarter before. The marginal increase in unemployment rates was accompanied by a moderation in wage growth, from 4.0% y-o-y in Q4 2011 to 0.9% in Q1 2012.
![36% of Singaporeans still feel job market is \"weak\"](http://sbr.com.sg/sites/default/files/imagecache/features/news/employees-management_52.JPG "36% of Singaporeans still feel job market is \\"weak\\"")
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