Unemployment report surprises Singapore.

First quarter results for Singapore's economy revealed a surprise in the unemployment figures -- and not a pleasant one. The Financial Times (London) reported that Singapore's unemployment rate was 3.9 percent for the period from January 2005 through March 2005.

The International Herald Tribune (Neuilly Cedex) in its report on the same development said that the increase in unemployment was due to manufacturing operations leaving the country. Specifically, it mentioned the departure of three of the world's leading makers of hard disc drives. The manufacturers left Singapore to find less expensive labor in other countries in the region.

The most recent defection, the world's second biggest maker of hard drives, cost Singapore 5,500 jobs.

Comments about the spike in unemployment were mild. The consensus was that Singapore was adding other industries. Prominent among these additions were pharmaceutical manufacturers and services. Singapore's economy grew 8.4 percent in 2004. Its growth is predicted to slow this year to between 3 percent and 5 percent based on a global slowdown in cell phone sales and the chips that power them.