Why Are Foreign Workers Needed in Singapore?
Singapore’s economy is fuelled by our local population and a great number of foreigners. Why are we so keen in hiring foreigners to work when we have our own local workforce?
There are several reasons as to why foreigners can help to boost our economy in areas that local Singaporeans are unable to do so.
1. Foreigners help in jobs that locals are not interested in
Many service and retail jobs are being turned down by locals as they do not like the long hours and constant customer service nature of the jobs. The service sector is an important one in our economy and foreigners have helped to take up many of these jobs.
2. Locals alone are not enough to propel the economy
A study done by Singapore University of Social Sciences in 2017 showed that one third of the workforce is made up of foreigners. Without them, we would be left with a strained economy. Singapore is lacking in the quality and quantity of domestic labour and we rely heavily on immigration to cater to our workforce. Moreover, many foreigners bring talented and expertise skills that companies can benefit from.
3. Singapore’s ageing population
Singapore’s need for immigration and foreigners is partly fuelled by our low fertility rate and ageing population. Our fertility rate has constantly been declining over the years. In recent years, the number of people joining the workforce is approximately same as the number of people who left the workforce meaning that the net resident labour supply growth is nearly flat.
4. Right skills
Singapore has many emerging sunrise industries such as the information and technology (IT) field. While we do want locals to have the jobs instead, it will take awhile to train new skills in our local workforce. Many of these skill sets can be found in foreigners who have high levels of qualifications and education and they can help in the interim.
Singapore’s economy aims at achieving a balance in immigration and our local workforce. While being cautious with our own local supply of labour, we have never closed our doors to the rest of the world.
