3 in 10 jobs went to citizens

Less than 3 in 10 jobs went to citizens: no real figures on citizens given
by MOM

I refer to the Straits Times article “3 in 10 jobs went to locals“. According to latest figures from the Ministry of Manpower, 156,900 new jobs went to foreigners last year. Only 64,7oo jobs, or 30% of the total number created went to locals which include both citizens and PRs

Since there are no independent figures provided on the number of citizens getting new jobs, it is difficult to assess the real impact of the tightening labor market have on Singapore citizens.  However, one can safely conclude that less than 3 in 10 jobs go to citizens if we take PRs out of the equation.

For those who become PRs only last year, are they put into the “foreigner” or “local” group? If they are put into the latter group, it will artificially inflate the number of jobs going to locals.

I did a check on MOM’s website and found that both citizens and PRs are grouped together under “residents” in all its statistics.

In its report on the unemployment rate in Singapore (link) in 2008, the total unemployment rate of 2.2% is much lower than the resident rate of 3.2%:

 

This means that the unemployment rate of residents (citizens + PRs) is higher than the rate for all groups living on the island including foreigners.

What is the actual employment rate of Singapore citizens? MOM did not provide any figures though I suspect it may be higher than the quoted 3.2%.

It is logical that the number of unemployed PRs is less than that of Singaporeans. PRs are only here to make a living. They can always return to their land of birth if they are unable to find a job here.

Without giving the public the absolute numbers and percentage of unemployed citizens, the statistics are of little use for us to get a clear picture of the reality on the ground.

 

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