Employment in the third quarter grew by a healthy 28,500, the Ministry of Manpower said in a statement.

The increase is double the 14,100 jobs created in the same period a year ago but lower than the preceding quarter's gain of 31,700, it said.

"Cumulatively, employment expanded by 78,000 in the first nine months of 2005, surpassing the 71,400 gains for the whole of last year," it said.

The latest gains, on the back of an improving economy, add to increases of the past eight quarters, the ministry said.

"Looking ahead, the employment expansion is likely to be sustained for the rest of the year, supported by the year-end festivities.

"Consequently, employment creation for the whole of this year is expected to match or even exceed the robust gains of 108,500 experienced during the economic boom in 2000," the statement said.

Preliminary figures showed the seasonally adjusted overall unemployment rate down slightly to 3.3 percent in September from 3.4 percent in June, it said.

The city-state's economy, the wealthiest in Southeast Asia, sprinted to a better-than-expected seven percent expansion in the third quarter, prompting the government to raise its 2005 growth target to five percent.

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