A sun halo appears in the sky above Singapore's Gardens by the Bay on Oct. 25, 2020. (Photo by Then Chih Wey/Xinhua)

The employment of Singapore's residents, referring to Singapore citizens and permanent residents, rebounded strongly in the third quarter of 2020, according to the Labour Market Report released by the Ministry of Manpower on Thursday.

The resident employment increased 43,200 in the third quarter to 2.34 million in September, which is just 0.4 percent lower than the 2.35 million in September 2019.

However, Singapore's non-resident employment continued to contract and decreased 72,300 in the third quarter, which was more sharply than in the first two quarters of this year. As a result, Singapore's total employment contracted in the third quarter by 29,100, significantly less than the contraction of 103,800 in the previous quarter.

The employment figures do not include foreign domestic workers, according to the report.

The report attributes the rebound in resident employment to the strong support measures of the Singaporean government for local employment.

It said the uncertainty in the economic environment and weak demand conditions will weigh on the recovery of Singapore's labor market, and COVID-19 has also accelerated the pace of business transformation and may cause some jobs not to return.

"As such, labor market recovery may remain protracted beyond the immediate rebound," it added.