| Agence
France Presse January 31, 2005 SINGAPORE SINGAPORE'S unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.7 percent at the end of December from 3.6 percent at the end of September but was still well down on the 4.6 percent level of a year earlier, the government said Monday, Jan 31. In a preliminary report on the labour market, the Manpower Ministry said some 27,500 new jobs had been created in the December quarter, the strongest performance in four years. Employment increased by 66,200 for all of 2004, raising the total number of people employed to a record high of 2.2 million. Singapore's economy was one the fastest growing in the Asia Pacific last year with gross domestic product (GDP) expanding 8.1 percent from a low base of 1.1 percent growth in 2003. The trade-reliant economy's solid showing last year was boosted largely by strong export orders as total trade rose 22 percent to a record S$580 billion (US$354 billion). |
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