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ckage includes rebates for airport landing fees, a reduction of the levy paid by employers for their foreign workers and property tax relief for shops, hotels and restaurants. It will take effect May and last until the end of the year.

Latest figures released by the Department of statistics for its 2000 population census reveal that today's worker has higher qualifications, and is more likely to be working in a high-tech or service industry and hold a professional or technical position. Fewer are taking up jobs as cleaners, labourers and production operators, while the proportion of professionals has almost doubled from 5.3% in 1990 to 10.1% in 2000. Ten years ago which is year 1990, almost a fifth of Singaporean workers had no education, while 60% held primary and secondary school certificates. A decade of intensive education has reduced these figures - now only one-tenth have no education. 50% hold primary and secondary school certificates and 42% hold post- secondary qualifications, more than double that in 1990.

The government will review the levy on foreign workers and domestic maids in 2001 when the economic climate becomes clearer. Manpower Minister Lee Boon Yang told reporters on 10 Dec 2000 the government would see whether the levies set during the economic downturn continued to be relevant, or if they should be adjusted to reflect the change in the economic environment.

The Manpower Ministry's labour market report for the second quarter of this year, released on 14 Sep 2000, found that although employment has gone up, more older workers are being left on the shelf in the job market. The percentage of those aged 40 and above among the ranks of the unemployed rose from 31.5% in June 1997 to 43.8% in June this year. In contrast, the proportion of unemployed people under the age of 30 dropped sharply over the same period - from 45% of the total to 29.3%. In March this year, more than 6 in 10 of older workers were hired within three to six months after they were retrenched, but this dropped to 56.6% in June. The report noted a shortage of professionals, engineers, process technicians, nurses and other highly-skilled employees. The national unemployment rate rose from 3.4% to 3.5% in June due to a mismatch in the demand and supply of labour.

The latest statistics from the Ministry of Trade and Industry showed that 30,800 jobs were created in the second quarter of 2000. This raised the total employment gain in the first half to 44,500 jobs. Retrenchments in the second quarter tumbled to 1,700 from 6,046 in the first quarter of 2000. The ministry said on 10 Aug 2000 that structural unemployment was likely to persist unless workers renewed their skills to keep up with changes in the economy.

The unemployment rate for June 2000 was 3.5%. For the first half of this year, 7,700 people were retrenched, compared to 6,700 in the same period last year. Most of the retrenchments came from the manufacturing sector, which was severely affected by the cycle of upgrading and restructuring, said Manpower Minister Lee Boon Yang on 6 Aug 2000.

Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 29 Jun 2000 announced a major overhaul of the civil service reward system. Life-long employment will become a thing of the past, with government administrative officers serving fixed terms in top positions, ensuring renewal in the civil service. People are still losing their jobs despit