Debated in Parliament on 26 Jul 2021.
Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Manpower what is the current number of citizens, Permanent Residents, Employment Pass holders and S Pass holders in each of the (i) finance (ii) infocomm (iii) professional services and (iv) other sectors.
The Member will be able to find the number of employed residents by industry sector in the Labour Force in Singapore reports. This is published annually and available on MOM's website.
MOM does not further break down employed residents in each industry sector by Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. This is aligned with international practice and ensures international comparability, as statistical agencies worldwide typically cover the population residing in their country without a breakdown by nationality. We question the Progress Singapore Party’s fixation on drawing lines, first between Employment Pass (EP) holders and locals and now drawing lines among locals. In any case, the Member will also be able to note that in a 2020 Occasional Paper, MOM reported that Singapore Citizens consistently make up around 85% of the resident labour force.
As for the number of EP holders in the industry sectors, the Ministerial Statement by the Minister for Manpower on 6 July 2021 already stated that there were around 177,000 EP holders in our overall workforce in 2020. The Infocomm and Professional Services sectors account for around one-fifth each, while the Finance sector accounts for another one-seventh.
As for S Pass holders, there were around 174,000 S Pass holders in 2020. The Finance, Infocomm and Professional Services sectors collectively account for around one-eighth of S Pass holders.
The Member is advised to refer to published data to get the information she is interested in.
PAPERCUTS