SINGAPORE, July 27 — More workers were retrenched in the second quarter of the year, while the unemployment rate also crept up last month, based on the latest labour figures from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Releasing preliminary labour figures for the second quarter of the year today, the MOM said that the unemployment rate inched up to 2.1 per cent at the end of the second quarter from 2 per cent at the close of the first quarter.

The jobless rate for citizens and permanent residents registered the largest jump, rising from 2.8 per cent to 3 per cent in the same period. The citizen unemployment rate also rose from 3 per cent to 3.1 per cent.

The MOM said the higher unemployment figures come in the face of more workers entering the workforce to seek employment amid "continued expansion in economic activities”.

While the rising unemployment comes on the back of a general downward trend since last June, unemployment remained lower than a year ago, the MOM said.

Meanwhile, more workers were retrenched between April and June, compared with the first quarter. Preliminary estimates showed that 2,500 workers were retrenched, compared with 2,320 workers in the first quarter. This reflected continuing "restructuring and reorganisation”, the ministry said.

Retrenchments edged up in the manufacturing sector, which made up 32 per cent of workers made redundant. While redundancies declined in services, the sector continued to account for the majority of retrenched workers (52 per cent).

Despite the uptick in retrenchments, the figure was lower than a year ago, when 3,640 workers were made redundant, the MOM said.

The total pool of workers in employment — excluding foreign domestic workers — expanded in the second quarter by 7,100, markedly higher than the increase seen in the first quarter (400). The services sector continued to pile on workers, particularly in sectors such as transportation and storage, information and communications, community, social and personal services, professional services, and financial and insurance.

In a statement, the MOM said that it would be "increasingly important” for workers and businesses to stay agile and responsive to emerging technological trends, economic restructuring and the evolving workforce landscape.

"The MOM and Workforce Singapore remain focused on helping jobseekers secure better employment outcomes through the Adapt and Grow initiative, and businesses to transform and grow through the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme and the Capability Transfer Programme,” it added.

Commenting on the latest data in a Facebook post today, the National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Patrick Tay said even though retrenchments for the first half of this year remain low compared with the same period in the last two years, he expects it to inch up in the third quarter, as Singapore continues to "see pockets of layoffs due to re-organisation, restructuring and re-strategisation amid technological (and) digital disruption including uncertainties caused by the United States trade sanctions”.

He reminded companies retrenching workers that they should pay affected workers retrenchment benefits based on industry norms or tripartite guidelines, as the labour movement has come across some non-unionised companies not paying or dishing out retrenchment benefits below industry norms. ­— TODAY