Whither Singapore's unemployment rate?

• Main Author: HOON, Hian Teck
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2015
• Subjects: Unemployment; Singapore; GDP; economic growth; Asian Studies; Economics; Growth and Development; Labor Economics
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/1930; https://search.library.smu.edu.sg/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=SMU_ALMA2152018370002601&context=L&vid=SMU_NUI&search_scope=Everything&tab=default_tab&lang=en_US
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In the period 1990-1999, Singapore's average annual real GDP growth was 7.3% with a coefficient of variation, which is a measure of dispersion of growth around its mean, of 0.49. The average annual total unemployment rate during this period was 1.9%. In comparison, in the period 2000-2012, when the average annual real GDP growth was 5.6% with a coefficient of variation of 0.79, the average annual total unemployment rate was 2.8%. Looking into Singapore's next 50 years, if real GDP grows at 3% on average, what does it imply for the rate of unemployment? Will slower growth coincide with more variable growth? This essay explores these questions.