Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday urged the country to be mentally prepared for a slow pickup in the economy.
Lee explained that while the economy has bottomed, it is now faced with a hard climb back up, adding that Singaporeans should even be ready for surprises like a "W-shaped" recovery, according to TV broadcaster Channel News Asia.
Speaking to students at the Nanyang Technological University, Lee noted that the stock markets have recovered and the U.S. economy has stabilized. However, he said that major issues such as unemployment remained.
Singapore's overall unemployment rate stabilized at a seasonally adjusted 3.3 percent in the second quarter this year, unchanged from a quarter ago. On the other hand, a record low proportion of workers retrenched secured re-employment and long-term unemployment has worsened in the second quarter, indicating that the labor market was still weak./.