As per the media reports, for the next two quarters, Singapore's labor market will continue to be soft, since the economic outlook remains uncertain.

On the other hand, it was specified by Minister Gan Kim Yong that anecdotal feedback from unions and employers suggests retrenchment may be lower in the second quarter because most of it had been done after the Lunar New Year.

Despite this, Q2 might see the unemployment rate increasing. The end of this month might see the release of job data for the second quarter.

When asked about employment figures expected to be on the rise, Mr Gan specified that they vastly depend upon companies receiving orders after July and August.

The situation till now is unclear. Therefore, it is tough to forecast if a second wave of retrenchment will come.

These comments came from Mr. Gan at a news conference, regarding the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (SPUR), on Friday morning.

It should be noted that 1,800 companies have so far signed up for SPUR, sending 83,500 workers for training. Also, 40,600 individuals have signed up for SPUR.

While 19,000 people have found jobs through SPUR, there are still 27,000 job seekers in Singapore.

A sum of S$650 million has been budgeted by the government for the SPUR programme and so far S$210 million has been committed.