UNEMPLOYMENT SITUATION (Government Measures)

Mr Lim Choon Mong asked the Minister for Labour and Welfare what step the Government is taking to cope with the unemployment situation.

Mr Lim Yew Hock: Sir, Government has taken and will continue to take all possible opportunities to stimulate new employment and to train workers for more skilled jobs. It has under consideration various medium and long-term measures for improving the employment potential of Singapore. The encouragement of new industries and the development of vocational training, both through academic institutions such as the Polytechnic and Ministry of Labour training centres, are being worked out with the other Ministries concerned. To relieve distress, the Social Welfare Department continues to operate the Public Assistance Scheme whilst more comprehensive schemes for providing unemployment benefits are being studied. I am not aware of anything to indicate that the unemployment situation has materially deteriorated since March last year. On the contrary, improved standards of living, as evidenced by an estimated rise of 15 per cent in the average earnings of manual workers during 1955, have undoubtedly increased consumer demands and so helped to reduce employment.