Report: Labour Market Advance Release First Quarter 2020

This release provides preliminary estimates of key indicators on the manpower situation covering unemployment, employment and retrenchment for the latest quarter.

Key findings: Preliminary indicators showed that the labour market has felt the early effects of COVID-19. In 1Q 2020, total employment (excluding foreign domestic workers) registered its sharpest quarterly contraction since SARS, due to a significant contraction in foreign employment. Unemployment rates rose in March 2020 but remained lower than the peak during SARS. Similarly, retrenchments also rose in 1Q 2020, but were about one-quarter that of the quarterly peak seen in the Global Financial Crisis.

For more key findings, please refer to the highlights of the report.