Job vacancies increase to 67,400
According to the Straits Times news report ” Job vacancies up 9% in 2014, service industry workers in greatest demand” (Jan 28) – ” The number of job vacancies here rose again to 67,400 as of September last year, according to a Manpower Ministry (MOM) report released on Tuesday.This was up 8.9 per cent from the year before, as the tight labour market continued.
40% unfilled more than 6 months
The share of vacancies that went unfilled for six months or longer remained at around four in 10.”
Don’t you think there must be something wrong with these statistics?
Unfilled more than 6 months means?
If an employer cannot fill a vacancy after more than six months – it probably doesn’t really need to fill this job.
And therefore how is it possible that so many jobs – 26,960 (40 per cent) were unfilled after more than six months?
Breakdown into pay offered
These “vacancies” statistics are meaningless unless we are given the breakdown as to the pay and working conditions.
Most of the jobs pay as little as $5.50 an hour, require permanent weekends (all saturdays and sundays), 12 hour shifts for six days a week totalling 72 hours, etc (“PAP GOVT CLAIMS THAT ‘OLD IS GOLD’ BUT ALLOW ELDERLY TO BE EXPLOITED AT $5.50 AN HOUR?“, The Real Singapore, Jan 27).
Foreign workers are the main problem
As long as we allow foreigners to come as tourists to look for jobs and keep increasing the total number of foreign workers – pay will never go up nor will working conditions improve.
Win battles lose war
TRS Contributor