55,800 unemployed in S'pore, 6,000 immed. job vacancies?

[CENWEN]

<cite class="auth">Channel NewsAsia - Monday, January 19</cite>
SINGAPORE: More youths aged under 30 will start to feel the impact of the recession as the year progresses.

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</noscript>The unemployment rate for this group of youths was 4.1 per cent recently but NTUC said it is likely to go up this year. However, the labour movement said, the figure is still far better than those in other countries at the moment. And, among the 55,800 unemployed in Singapore, about 31 per cent of them are youths. The present economic downturn is the first major one for many young adults. To help prepare them if they get the axe, NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) held a retrenchment simulation exercise.

NTUC said there are about 6,000 immediate job vacancies across all sectors at the moment. But the main challenge when it comes to young adults is managing their own expectations. NTUC Assistant Secretary General, Josephine Teo, said: "The terms and conditions of employment may not be what they expect. So the purpose of this activity (retrenchment simulation exercise) is also to help them to understand that challenges are now different and therefore they also have to adjust their expectations accordingly."

Despite the downturn, Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean said Singapore could still rely on its strong dollar and reserves. "Because if the whole economy is in doubt or it collapses and nobody even believes in your currency anymore — like it has happened in some countries like Iceland — then we’re really in deep trouble," he said.
— CNA/ir

 

[popdod]

Recruit more foreigners.
FTs are here to save the jobs.


:o :( :o

 

[Ah Guan]

However, the labour movement said, the figure is still far better than those in other countries at the moment

We also note the cost of our ministers' salary is far higher than those in other countries at the moment