Debated in Parliament on 4 Jul 2022.
Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many Singaporeans are currently employed in the tech industry in Singapore; (b) how many Singaporeans in this industry have been made redundant in the last six months; and (c) what is the impact of the industry’s current "consolidation" in jobs expected to be on the overall job market in Singapore.
The use of technology has intensified across all sectors of the economy, most notably in manufacturing and financial services. While there are no clearly defined boundaries, the tech sector generally refers to the Information and Communications (I&C) sector. There were 128,900 residents employed in the I&C sector in Singapore as of March 2022.
The Government is monitoring the recent global trend of tech restructuring and layoffs. Thus far, retrenchments in our I&C sector have remained low. 260 residents were retrenched in the last two quarters, i.e. 4Q 2021 to 1Q 2022, which is comparable to the number of residents retrenched in 4Q 2019 to 1Q 2020, prior to the Circuit Breaker. Over the same period, the number of residents employed in the sector continued to increase, and grew by 6,800. Hiring demand has also remained strong, with job vacancies in the I&C sector having risen from 8,400 in September 2021 to 10,800 in March 2022.
We are mindful that hiring demand and employment growth in the I&C sector may moderate given the increasing challenges in the macro-economic environment, with tech firms making layoffs globally. Nonetheless, as businesses continue to digitalise, there will still be demand for workers with digital skills across the economy. We will continue to invest in our I&C workforce to ensure we remain nimble to seize new opportunities. The Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation led by Workforce Singapore (WSG) will proactively reach out to retrenching firms to offer employment assistance to affected workers. This includes provision of information and career resources, and career coaching services offered by WSG and NTUC’s e2i.
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