FOREIGN WORKERS IN SINGAPORE

FOREIGN WORKERS IN SINGAPORE: * * *

31.

Mrs Josephine Teo asked the Minister for Manpower (a) if he will provide an update on the number of foreigners working in Singapore and the trends over the last five years; and (b) which sectors have a high dependency on foreign workers.

Column: 1463

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Please refer to the distributed chart* which shows the employment change for both local and foreign workers over the last nine years. As the chart shows, during the difficult years of 2001 to 2003, foreigners served as a buffer and bore the brunt of job losses, while some jobs were still created for locals. When the economy picked up and was doing well, as it did from 2004 to 2006, both local and foreign employment rose to match labour demand that sustained the economic growth. As at December 2006, there were 756,300 foreigners in employment. Our flexible labour policy has allowed us to respond quickly to changing business cycles.

Typically, sectors which require labour-intensive work and which locals find unattractive have a higher dependency on foreign workers. For example, the Construction sector has a high proportion of foreign workers - there are about 145,000 work permit holders in Construction sector forming about 60% of the workforce in that sector.

---

• Column: 1491

Column: 1463

---