S Pass holders grew, while Employment Pass holders continued to shrink in 2018

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has released its Labour Market Report 2018, confirming preliminary estimates that the total employment as well as local employment grew, by 38,300 and 27,400 respectively, in 2018. Growth was also seen in S Pass holders by 11,100, across all sectors. The increase was led by the Services sector, with the highest growth seen in Administrative & Support Services, Food Services, Information & Communications, Professional Services, and Transportation & Storage. On the other hand, Employment Pass (EP) holders continue to decline across sectors in 2018, as a result of the raising of the EP qualifying salary in January 2017. Over the last two years, the number of EP holders has declined by 6,400. The report cited: “Reducing the Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) and S Pass sub-DRC in the Services sector from next year will help to keep the labour market tight to sustain the impetus for restructuring, and support good employment outcomes for Singaporeans.”