LAYOFFS in the first nine months of last year indicate the annual total is set to be much lower than the record 29,000 reported during the Asian financial crisis, said Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong yesterday.

Official records show 18,180 workers were retrenched in the first three quarters of last year.

The annual total will be known by Friday when the Manpower Ministry is scheduled to release the fourth-quarter employment figures.

But all indications point to the fact that 'the worst is behind us and Singapore's economy is recovering', Mr Gan said.

He was speaking at the Singapore Tripartism Forum where he mapped out the labour landscape for this year.

The recovery, however, will not obviate such manpower issues as an ageing workforce and getting employers to rehire their retirees, he said.

The minister also gave updates on the number of people attending training under the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur).

To date, 4,000 companies have committed 170,000 employees for training.

'Spur funding will end this year, and I urge companies which have not tapped on Spur to make use of this opportunity to upgrade your workforce and improve your productivity,' he said.

SUE-ANN CHIA