Its jobs

SINGAPORE: It was painful but seemingly inevitable. In mid-March, Mr Tan was retrenched from his role as a manager at a business tourism company. International travel has plunged since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic at the start of 2020. Changi Airport passenger traffic fell by 98 per cent year-on-year in the last week of March. Worldwide, the World Travel and Tourism Council predicted that 75 million tourism sector workers could lose their jobs, with close to two-thirds of them in the Asia-Pacific. READ: Events postponed, restaurants ‘near empty’ - F&B industry on the chopping block as COVID-19 measures bite READ: Business travel sector to lose US$820 billion in revenue on coronavirus hit - Industry group Mr Tan, who asked for his full name not to be used, was with the company for five-and-a-half years, taking home about S$5,000 a month. His morale has taken a hit, the 55-year-old said, while pressure at home underscores the challenges he faces. Besides … [Read more...] about Retrenchments and withdrawn job offers: Singapore’s labour market shows signs of COVID-19 strain

VIENNA: The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which includes Russia and the United States and other former Cold War foes, formally agreed on Friday to fill four of its top jobs with new faces, ending months of deadlock and bickering. The four positions, including the body's top full-time job of secretary general, had been vacant since July after disagreements among its participating states torpedoed what was supposed to be a straightforward renewal of the three-year terms for those occupying each post. The 57-nation OSCE is best known for its election observation work and its monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine, and is often involved in diplomacy around regional conflicts. But of late it has struggled to play a central role on issues such as Nagorno-Karabakh and protests against the rule of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko as tensions between Russia and its allies and the West have been increasing, leading to disagreements including over the … [Read more...] about OSCE agrees to fill four top jobs, ending months-long impasse

WASHINGTON: America’s employers scaled back their hiring last month as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated across the country, adding 245,000 jobs, the fewest since April and the fifth straight monthly slowdown. At the same time, the unemployment rate to a still-high 6.7 per cent, from 6.9 per cent in October, the Labor Department said. November’s job gain was down from 610,000 in October. Friday’s report of another slowdown in hiring was the latest evidence that the job market and the economy are faltering in the face of a virus that has been shattering daily records for confirmed infections. Before the pandemic, last month’s gains would have been considered healthy. But the US economy is still roughly 10 million jobs below its pre-pandemic level, with a rising proportion of the unemployed describing their jobs as gone for good. Faster hiring is needed to ensure that people who were laid off during the pandemic recession can quickly get back to work. Two enhanced federal … [Read more...] about US employers add a modest 245,000 jobs as COVID-19 intensifies

REUTERS: Wall Street's main indexes opened near all-time highs on Friday as worse-than-expected jobs growth in November spurred bets of a new fiscal stimulus package to help lift the economy from its worst downturn in decades. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 20.0 points, or 0.07per cent, at the open to 29989.56. The S&P 500 rose 4.2 points, or 0.12per cent, at the open to 3670.94, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 22.1 points, or 0.18per cent, to 12399.322 at the opening bell. (Reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva) … [Read more...] about Wall Street opens near record highs as grim jobs data fuels stimulus hopes

SINGAPORE: A scheme to encourage firms to hire local workers will be further enhanced to support ex-offenders, Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo said on Friday (Dec 4). Under the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI), which was introduced in August, the Government will co-pay 25 per cent of the first S$5,000 of gross monthly wages for each new local hire below 40 years old, for up to 12 months from the month of hire. This applies to firms that meet the qualifying criteria. The co-payment goes up to 50 per cent for workers aged 40 and above. Mrs Teo noted that the higher tier of wage support was extended in October to eligible employers hiring people with disabilities. "To support an even more inclusive workforce, the JGI will be further enhanced to support ex-offenders as well," said the Manpower Minister in a Facebook post. "For employers that include ex-offenders in their workforce expansion, we will provide the higher level of wage support of 50 per cent, regardless of age." … [Read more...] about Jobs Growth Incentive enhanced to support ex-offenders: Josephine Teo