BREAKDOWN OF THE UNEMPLOYED

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong asked the Minister for Manpower for a breakdown in the profile of the unemployed over the last five years in terms of their (i) age group, (ii)gender, (iii) marital status and (iv) education level.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: The profile of the unemployed residents is tabulated below: Profile of Unemployed Residents, 1997 - 2001 (Non-seasonally Adjusted, as at December) Characteristics 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Unemployed Residents 34,900 100.0 76,800 100.0 55,700 100.0 54,500 100.0 93,700 100.0 Sex Males 21,800 62.4 49,500 64.4 35,500 63.8 37,400 68.5 57,200 61.1 Females 13,100 37.6 27,300 35.6 20,100 36.2 17,200 31.5 36,400 38.9 Marital Status Single 22,800 65.4 41,500 54.0 28,000 50.2 30,400 55.7 46,800 50.0 Married 10,400 29.7 32,200 41.9 24,500 43.9 20,000 36.6 43,000 45.9 Widowed/Divorced 1,700 4.9 3,100 4.1 3,300 5.9 4,200 7.7 3,800 4.1 Age Group 15 - 29 15,900 45.5 24,600 32.1 18,500 33.1 19,900 36.5 30,100 32.1 30 - 39 7,400 21.2 21,300 27.7 13,500 24.2 11,800 21.7 25,500 27.2 40 - 49 7,300 21.0 20,900 27.2 14,500 25.9 14,500 26.7 21,600 23.1 50 & over 4,300 12.3 10,000 13.0 9,300 16.7 8,300 15.2 16,500 17.6 Highest Qualification Attained Below 15,900 45.5 37,300 48.6 25,700 46.2 25,200 46.3 38,200 40.8 Secondary Secondary 8,900 25.6 21,700 28.3 14,900 26.7 14,900 27.2 26,500 28.3 Post 3,500 10.1 3,400 4.4 3,500 6.3 2,700 5.0 8,100 8.7 Secondary Tertiary 6,600 18.8 14,300 18.7 11,600 20.8 11,700 21.5 20,800 22.2 * Data in the table may not add up to the total due to rounding.

Source: Labour Force Survey, MOM