110,000+ locals hired under govt scheme in 2020

The Singapore government's S$1 billion Jobs Growth Incentive Scheme saw a takeup rate of about 110,000 local hires in the first two months of its effective period last year, according to the Ministry of Manpower. Approximately half of them were aged 40 and above, and the largest proportion of hires—about 17,800, or 16 percent of the total—were made by companies in the food services sector. Wholesale trade and professional services accounted for another 9,800 and 8,400 hires respectively.

The scheme was launched in September 2020 to encourage businesses here to hire more local employees during the COVID-19 downturn. It runs until February 2021. Under it, companies that increase their local workforce during this period and also increase the number of jobs paying at least S$1,400 in gross monthly wages can receive salary support for their new local hires: 25 percent of the first S$5,000 of gross monthly wages for the first 12 months the person is on the job, with the amount increased to 50 percent if the person is aged 40 or older. However, they have to retain their existing employees as far as possible to get the full payout.

While MOM did not provide an estimate of how the 110,000 figure differs from local hires during the comparable period in 2019, approximately 25,000 employers qualified for the scheme—meaning they had increased their local workforce—by the end of October.

Manpower Minister Josephine Teo said of the numbers that while the scheme has good momentum, the extent to which the hiring will be sustained is still unclear, and work still needs to be done to help job seekers move into roles.

The hiring of locals, as opposed to the perception that many businesses prefer foreign talent from neighbouring countries due to favorable exchange rates, has long been a contentious issue in Singapore. However, COVID-19 border closures and the resulting manpower shortages may slowly be shifting viewpoints in the city-state.