PARTICIPATION RATE OF SINGAPOREANS IN WORKFORCE

PARTICIPATION RATE OF SINGAPOREANS IN WORKFORCE: 4.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how the employment of locals can be further enhanced in light of the decreasing participation rate of Singaporeans in the workforce; and (b) whether Singapore is too reliant on foreign labour in light of the higher participation rate of foreign labour.

The Minister of State for Manpower (Mr Gan Kim Yong) (for the Minister for Manpower: ): Mr Speaker, Sir, with strong economic growth, employment of local residents is at an all time high, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of the local population. From 2005 to 2007, there were 246,000 more locals in employment - about 92,000 in 2007 alone and this is about two to three times the annual average. Supported by robust job creation, the December 2007 resident

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unemployment rate dropped to a decade low of 2.3%, comparable to pre-Asian crisis levels.

The employment rate for locals aged 25 to 64 is at a record high of 76.5% (for 2007). And contrary to what the Member pointed out, the resident labour force participation rate for those aged 15 and above is also now at a record high of 65.1% for 2007, up from 63.7% a decade ago and 63.3% in 2004.

Sir, as we hit record high employment rates, there will be limits to further growth of our local workers. We will do more to encourage women and older workers to return or stay longer in the workforce. But businesses will also need to tap on foreign workers to meet demand.

Our flexible foreign workforce policies have enabled our economy to grow even though we have limited local manpower. This is a competitive advantage highly valued by companies and potential investors. Companies here are able to expand their workforce quickly to capitalise on growth opportunities, thereby creating even more and better jobs for locals.

Mdm Ho Geok Choo: Sir, I would like to ask the Minister of State whether the job matching agencies are reaching out to the relevant groups of Singaporeans who are actually in need of a job and whether they know exactly how and where to approach these agencies.

My second question for the Minister of State is this. In view of the fact that we are quite dependent on foreign workers, how badly will our economy be hit should a foreign country decide to place an embargo on their nationals coming to Singapore to work?

Mr Gan Kim Yong: Sir, on the first question of job matching agencies, we

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have distributed career network in Singapore tapping on the network of our community organisations, including the CDCs as well as voluntary organisations, like self-help groups and so on, to reach out to those who are looking for jobs. And as I mentioned, we have been quite effective in raising our overall employment rate and reducing our unemployment rate.

With regard to the second question on dependency on foreign workers, our flexibility in our foreign workers policy has been a key strength of our economy. Over the past few years, our experience has shown that we have been able to adapt quickly to changes in the economic environment. We will continue to diversify our sources of foreign workers. We will ensure that our workforce remains resilient and our economy and companies remain responsive to changes in the external environment, so that we can remain competitive and our economic growth can besustained.