Growth of Singapore's Foreign Workforce
Over the years, Singapore has opened its gates to an abundance of foreign workers who have come to seek for greater job opportunities. We have seen significant changes in number of foreign workers and the different types of passes that have been applied for.
Between December 2014 to December 2018, there has been an increase in Employment Pass (EP) holders and S Pass holders while Work Permit holders saw a decrease in numbers. This increase in EP and S Pass holders would have translated into increased knowledge and many valuable skills that benefitted many sectors of our economy.
Although there was a decrease in number of Work Permit holders, the FDWs among the Work Permit holders saw an increase from 222,500 in December 2014 to 253,800 in December 2018. This could help ameliorate the overall well-being of more families and individuals living in Singapore who rely on FDWs to cope with their busy schedules on a day to day basis. It also signifies a safe and comfortable environment that attracts FDWs to immigrate into Singapore for work. Apart from the increase among FDWs for Work Permit holders, the Construction workers among the Work Permit holders saw a decrease from 322,700 in December 2014 to 280,500 in December 2018. This may be attributed to improvements in technology and automation that can replace manual labour and processes on a construction site and within the industry.
Other Work Passes which includes the Letter of Consent (LOC), Training Work Permit (TWP), and Training Employment Pass (TEP) saw an increase from 15,400 in December 2014 to 32,100 in December 2018. Such an increase signifies the many opportunities that Singapore presents as a small and growing economy that has attracted many foreign talent to be willing to invest and grow with our society.
All in all, there has been an overall increase in total foreign workforce from 1,355,700 in December 2014 to 1,386,000 in December 2018 which translates into a well-performing economy with many opportunities.
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Post written by Shaun Lee Bryant, Singapore Immigration Specialist
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