Singapore must not view residents and foreigners as ‘zero-sum game’ for jobs: Tan See Leng

SINGAPORE must not view residents and foreigners as a “zero-sum game and continue to draw divides”, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng in Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 2), stressing that locals will have better job opportunities and wages if businesses have access to “complementary foreign talent”.

He was responding to a question filed by Gerald Giam from the opposition Workers’ Party, who asked how the government will ensure that the bulk of new jobs created in 2024 will go to citizens and residents, given that non-residents made up the bulk of employment growth in 2023.

Responding, Dr Tan said that Giam “seems to be under the misconception that a net increase in foreign employment means that jobs are not going to Singaporeans”, with the minister describing this view as “fundamentally misguided”.

“Thriving businesses with access to complementary foreign talent will not only lead to more job creation, but also improve overall wage outcomes as businesses expand and improve their productivity,” said Dr Tan.

He added that the fundamental objective of Singapore’s approach was to “strike a balance between ensuring that businesses have access to the skills and manpower needed to grow and succeed, while creating opportunities for our local workers to grow and progress”.

This approach has allowed locals to secure good jobs, said Dr Tan.

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Between 2013 and 2023, the number of resident professionals, managers, executives, and technicians (PMETs) grew by 380,000, while the number of Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass holders went up by 50,000.

Similarly, in growth sectors such as finance, infocomm and professional services, resident PMETs increased by 190,000, while the number of EP and S Pass holders grew by just 20,000.

Singaporeans’ wage outcomes have also improved. Over the decade, resident incomes have also gone up in real terms, by 21.6 per cent, noted Dr Tan.

In his reply, he said the Ministry of Manpower is interested in whether Singaporeans who want to find a job can do so. This is reflected in the country’s resident employment and unemployment rates.

In 2023, Singapore’s resident employment rate was 66.2 per cent – making it the fourth-highest resident employment rate compared to other advanced economies in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The country’s unemployment rate and long-term unemployment rate also remain very low at 2.7 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.

As Singapore’s resident workforce growth slows, it is imperative that the country remains open to complementary foreign labour to meet the demands of the growing economy and businesses, said Dr Tan.

He noted that a large share of the increase in non-resident employment growth – about 64,800 or 77.6 per cent – was from work permit and work pass holders in sectors such as construction, which are typically not the type of jobs that Singaporeans want to do.

The remaining – about 18,700 or 22.4 per cent – was from higher-skilled EP and S Pass holders, where there is a global shortage. The total number of EP and S Pass holders is also still below pre-Covid levels, said Dr Tan.

In a supplementary question, Giam asked if there are concerns that the government’s efforts to create jobs by attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) “appear to disproportionately benefit multinational companies (MNCs) and foreign workers, in particular foreign professionals over Singaporean workers”.

To this, Dr Tan replied: “I think to say that we have expended significant government expenditure (into) growing the economy and (to ask) how many of these jobs end up with residents – I think that is myopic.”

Singapore cannot continue to grow its workforce “indefinitely” to grow its economy, stressed Dr Tan. “We need to also grow our productivity and our value-add.”

As the economy grows, businesses must also have access to the workforce they need, and this includes foreign talent, he said.

“In a situation where our labour market is so tight, how do we ensure that... MNCs will make significant FDIs in Singapore to continue to grow and leverage the ecosystem, especially when we are already at close to full employment?”

“Is the member therefore suggesting that because we are in full employment, we put a dampener on our businesses’ ability to grow? I think that is very short-sighted,” said Dr Tan.