Have Foreigners Increased Competition for Jobs among Singaporeans?
Singapore has long welcomed the influx of foreigners for their valuable talents and contributions that they can bring to our growing economy. However has this taken a toll on the job opportunities for Singaporeans? Here are several facts clarified by MOM alongside debunking incorrect claims.
1. Loss of jobs among Singaporeans
A total of 3,000 Singaporeans lost their jobs between March 2018 to June 2018 with the number of unemployed Singaporeans rising from 57,600 to 60,600 while foreigners gained 11,800 jobs in the same period.
MOM answers:
The data on local/foreign employment growth is published every half a year. The mosr recent data released in March 2018 shows a local employment growth of 21,300 in 2017 whereas foreign employment growth was down at minus 32,000.
There are a multitude of factors that contribute to the increase in unemployment for Singaporeans and these are not primarily due to job losses. One reason could be more Singaporeans entering the job market or voluntary job leaver in search of a new job. The data should also be interpreted together with other labour market data to provide a clearer and more accurate understanding of the situation.
2. Official unemployment figures omitting the numbers of certain groups of people
Unemployment figures excluded several groups of people such as married women who are labelled as “housewives”, Singaporeans serving national service duties, seniors above the age of retirement labellled as “retired” and those who are considered long-term unemployed.
MOM answers:
MOM considers you as unemployed if you are not working, actively seeking work and available for work regardless of demographic characteristics and marital status. As per the definition above, “housewives” and “retirees” as well as long-term unemployed have been taken into account in the unemployed figures whereas full-time national servicemen are excluded due to their NS obligation which prevents them from actively seeking work nor to be available for work.
3. Employment figures leave out data on income
Data on income is not included in the Labour Market Advance Release and more than 80% of working retirees have a salary of less than $1,000 per month.
MOM answers:
Income data are made known to the public on a regular basis and are released in several MOM publications. In the year 2017, 24% of employed residents above the age of 65 have a gross monthly salary of less than $1,000 which is a drop from the 43% recorded in the year 2012. It is also notable that support measures such as the Workfare Income Supplement (WIS) have been introduced to help older low wage workers.
4. The Government doctored the unemployment figures
This was done as it is “a vital component of the ministerial salaries”.
MOM answers
All compilation of unemployment data abides strictly by international standards set by International Labour Organisation (ILO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) with the IMF regularly monitoring the statistics and has never call attention to any discrapencies or doubts on the statistics released by Singapore.
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Post written by Shaun Lee Bryant, Singapore Immigration Specialist
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