Singapore employers expanded payrolls for a third straight quarter as faster economic growth prompted companies to increase hiring at casinos and factories.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 2.2% in the three months ended March from a revised 2.3% the previous quarter, the Ministry of Manpower said today. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of six economists was for a jobless rate of 2.1%. The city state added an estimated 34,000 new jobs last quarter.

 

The prospect of better wages is prompting more Singaporeans to enter the labor force as the US$182 billion ($249 billion) economy grew an annualized 32.1% in the first quarter from the previous three months. Rising job creation may fuel consumer spending and boost services, helping the economy achieve the government’s growth forecast this year of as much as 9%.

 

Singapore’s second casino-resort, run by Las Vegas Sands Corp., opened on April 27, about two months after the opening of Genting Singapore Plc’s casino. Hiring by the resorts has boosted employment by the services industry, which added 31,200 jobs last quarter.

 

The manufacturing industry added 3,400 jobs in the first three months of 2010, while construction companies shed 800 workers, the report showed.

 

The Singapore economy added 37,600 new positions last year. Job creation is likely to pick up in 2010 as the expanding economy boosts hiring sentiment among companies, the central bank said in a report this week.

 

“Employment prospects for the financial services sector will be buoyed by banks expanding their operations in anticipation of high demand for corporate banking and wealth management services in the region,” according to the central bank report.