Singapore Manufacturing Up 21%

Some segments of the Singapore economy are finally beginning to look brighter this year but it seems the labor market has yet to receive the memo, NewsNow reported. After a protracted period of declining growth, Singapore manufacturers finally appear to have reached the end of the tunnel. Manufacturing output grew at the fastest rate in five years in December, according to Economic Development Board data out on Thursday. The data showed factory output surged 21.3% in December over the same month a year ago, double economists’ expectations of 10.4% growth and the strongest showing since December 2011. This momentum is expected to continue amid a firmer global outlook, and the data has prompted some economists to pencil in more optimistic forecasts for the Singapore economy this year. The manufacturing numbers reinforced upbeat export data out Jan 17—non-oil domestic exports expanded 9.4% in December over the same month a year earlier, following a strong 11.5% reading in November. It surprised economists who had expected a more modest uptick.