JOBS LOST (Figures)

Dr Toh Chin Chye asked the Acting Minister for Labour what is the number of jobs lost for the years 1984 and 1985 and during the month of January 1986.

The Acting Minister for Labour (Mr Lee Yock Suan): Mr Speaker, Sir, the number of jobs lost in 1985 was 95,900 and in January 1986 was 3,100. There were no job losses in 1984. In fact, 1,000 jobs were created.

Dr Toh Chin Chye (Rochore): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask whether the Minister has received my question in which I asked for a breakdown of jobs lost among holders of work permits and holders of professional visit passes?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am not sure whether the Member is referring to another question which is coming up at another sitting of Parliament. If so, I will answer it in due course.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Mr Speaker, can the Minister tell us what is the number of persons who are now registered with the Labour Employment Services Department?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Speaker, Sir, the answer is about 10,000.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: How many jobs have been found for those who have been registered through the Department?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: We should not relate the 10,000 who are now listed with the jobs found last year because this was over a period of one year. Last year, speaking from memory, I think our success rate of emplacement was about 20%. There are various reasons for this. One reason is that the employers who come to us are normally those who have difficulty finding workers to fill their jobs; another is that preferred jobs cannot be found for the applicants.

The problem, as we have found from our records, is that there is quite a big mismatch between those people wanting jobs and the jobs available. For example, a lot of people want clerical jobs but there are relatively few available. On the other hand, last year we had requests from employers for about 2,000 seamstresses for garment factories, and only nine job applicants were willing to work in those factories. So the important thing really is not that there are no jobs available, but there is a need for both the job registrant and the employer to make adjustments so that we can try and put more of these people into jobs.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Mr Speaker, Sir, is there a coordination of effort between the Labour Employment Services Department and other Government departments and statutory boards in helping the unemployed to look for work?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Yes, we do have requests from most of the Ministries and departments. In fact, whenever they require daily-rated employees, for example, they will come to our Employment Services Department to look for workers. We also coordinate with the Job Placement Unit of the NTUC as well as the Singapore Manufacturers' Association.

Dr Toh Chin Chye: Mr Speaker, is it true that those with higher education have been discouraged from registering with the Labour Employment Services Department?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Mr Speaker, Sir, they have not been discouraged. I think the situation is that most of the more highly educated, in looking for jobs, are able to respond on their own. If Members were to look at the classified advertisements they will find that there are quite a lot of vacancies for various jobs, and the experience has been that these people tend to reply directly to those advertisements. In fact, from our own experience, ie; from our Labour Force Survey, we find that only a relatively small percentage of the unemployed decide to come to us while the rest prefer to go directly. And this is the way it should be. They either go through friends or other channels, or they respond to advertisements. So the end result is that those people who come to us generally are those who have greater difficulty finding jobs, and the same thing applies to the employers.