Singapore (2)

Title of the survey

Labour Market Survey

Organization responsible

Ministry of Labour, Research and Statistics Department.

Periodicity of the survey

Quarterly.

Objectives of the survey

To monitor the labour market situation and to collect labour market information for policy formulation and implementation.

Main labour topics covered by the survey

Employment, hours of work, labour turnover and job vacancies.

Reference period

Employment: the last day of the reference quarter. Standard hours of work: a normal week in the reference quarter. Overtime hours: the last month of the reference quarter.

Coverage of the survey

Geographical

The whole country.

Industrial

All branches of economic activity in the private sector. Excluded are the public sector and household services.

Establishments

All private sector establishments with at least 25 employees.

Persons

Employees, including working directors. Excluded are working proprietors, unpaid family workers and young workers under the age of 15.

Occupations

All occupations are covered in principle. However, data are not collected on individual occupations, but on occupational groups. (See also Classifications).

Concepts and definitions

Employment

Data relate to paid employees, i.e. all persons working directly for the establishment, including those who were on sick leave, annual leave, etc., on the reference date, but were still on the establishment payroll. Casual workers who work on and off and home workers are excluded. Separate data, by occupational group, are collected on: Data are also collected on the number of full-time and part-time employees, without disaggregation by occupational group. Part-time employees are defined as employees who normally work less than 30 hours in a week, including those who work half-days or only some days per week. Excluded from part-time employees are casual workers, employees on short workweek and temporary employees who work the normal hours.

Earnings

Not relevant.

Wage/salary rates

Not relevant.

Hours of work

Data are collected separately on total weekly standard hours of work and total (paid) overtime hours worked Total weekly standard hours of work refer to the total number of hours, excluding meal breaks, which should be put in by the employees during a normal working week. Included are hours of work put in by reservists on in-camp training, those on paid sick leave, in hospital, on maternity or parental leave, study or training leave, trade unions and employers' organizations activities, annual and personal leave, etc., as long as they are paid for. Excluded are inactive periods of time due to industrial disputes, time spent on travel from home to work and vice versa, and any hours worked but not paid for. Total (paid) overtime hours worked refer to the actual number of hours worked in excess of the standard hours of work, for which the employees were paid a premium rate, during the last month of the reference quarter. It excludes overtime hours worked for which time off was given in lieu of payment. Data on total weekly standard hours, total paid overtime hours and total number of paid employees who were paid overtime payment for the last month of the reference quarter, are collected separately for full-time and part-time employees (but not by occupational group).

International recommendations

The definition of standard hours corresponds to the concept of normal hours of work in the international recommendations. The total of standard hours and paid overtime hours worked corresponds to the concept of hours paid for, since it includes in normal hours of work the hours paid for but not worked, due to any kind of leave or inactive periods of time spent at the workplace or outside the workplace.

Classifications

Industrial

Data on employment and hours of work are classified by major industry division, according to the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification (SSIC), 1990, which conforms to the basic framework of the International Standard Industrial Classification of all economic activities (ISIC), Rev. 2, 1968.

Occupational

Data on employment and hours are classified by occupational group according to the Singapore Standard Occupational Classification (SSOC), 1990, which is adapted from the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-88). Three occupational groups are used:

Others

The survey results are also classified according to the size and source of capital of establishments.

Sample size and design

Statistical unit

The reporting unit is the firm (establishment, company or organization).

Survey universe / sample frame

This consists of a list of firms and establishments generated by the Central Provident Fund Board (i.e. the government agency in charge of social security contributions). It covers all private sector establishments with at least 25 workers, as at June of each year. The frame is updated each year, based on a computer listing of establishments generated by the CPFB, on the basis of employers' records.

Sample design

The survey is a complete enumeration of all establishments with 25 or more employees.

Field work

Data collection

Takes place in the months of April, July, October and January of each year. Data are collected through mail questionnaires followed by telephone inquiries, conducted by staff from a permanent survey team.

Survey questionnaire

This incorporates a letter of information on the survey and consists of two parts: A page of explanatory notes on definitions of occupational groups, categories of employees and types of hours of work is provided with the questionnaire.

Substitution of sampling units

Not relevant.

Data processing and editing

Data are processed by computer; coding and editing is done manually. In the case of missing or inconsistent data, respondents are contacted by telephone and mail.

Types of estimates

Average employment, recruitment rate, departure rate and hours paid for are compiled for each quarter.

Construction of indices

None.

Weighting of sample results

Not relevant.

Adjustments

Non-response

None.

Other bias

None.

Use of benchmark data

Not relevant.

Seasonal variations

Not relevant.

Indicators of reliability of the estimates

Coverage of the sampling frame

The coverage of private sector establishments with 25 or more employees is complete.

Sampling error / sampling variance

Not relevant.

Non-response rate

Not available. Under the Statistics Act, it is compulsory to respond to the survey.

Non-sampling errors

Nil.

Conformity with other sources

Not relevant.

Available series

Published tables include data on average employment, paid workers, labour turnover rates and average weekly hours of work, by industry.

History of the survey

The Labour Market Survey was introduced in 1988 and has been conducted since then without any major changes. Prior to 1988, statistics of weekly hours worked were compiled from various establishment surveys conducted by the Ministry of Labour. Their coverage included public and private sector establishments with at least ten workers.

Documentation

Ministry of Labour, Research and Statistics Department: Singapore Yearbook of Labour Statistics (annual, Singapore). idem: Bulletin of Labour Statistics (quarterly, ibid.) (restricted circulation).

Confidentiality / Reliability criteria

The survey is conducted under the Statistics Act (Chapter 317), Revised Edition 1991. The information provided by employers is strictly confidential and used for statistical purposes only. No particulars or information relating to any establishment is published or released to the public.

Other information

Data supplied to the ILO for publication

Data on average weekly hours paid for of employees in non-agricultural activities and in specific industries are published in Tables 11 to 15 of the Yearbook of Labour Statistics.