1. Total employment expanded after four consecutive quarters of decline. This was supported by resident employment growth, as non-resident employment continued to contract. The decline in non-resident employment partly reflects the restrictions on the inflow of foreign workers due to public health reasons.

2. Unemployment rates continued to ease, while the resident long-term unemployment rate remained unchanged.

3. Retrenchments declined to levels seen in 2018 and 2019, and the re-entry rate among retrenched residents rose.

4. As business activities picked up, the number of employees who were placed on short work-week or temporary layoff continued to decline.

5. The ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons improved. There was nearly 1 job vacancy for every unemployed person in March 2021, as the number of job vacancies increased.