Written Answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng to PQ on Negative Local Workforce Growth

NOTICE PAPER NO. 951 OF 2022 FOR SITTING ON 14 FEBRUARY 2022
QUESTION NO. 1507 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Mr Patrick Tay

To ask the Minister for Manpower when is Singapore forecasted to start seeing a negative local workforce growth and whether there is a likelihood of it stagnating.

Answer: 

1. Resident workforce growth has been slowing due to lower birth rates and an ageing population. From 2011 to 2015, the resident workforce grew by 55,200 per annum on average. From 2016 to 2020, resident workforce growth averaged 20,600 per annum. In the March 2017 Parliamentary Sitting, we said that we expect resident workforce growth to head for stagnation over the subsequent ten years. However, we now expect our resident workforce to continue growing beyond 2027. This is in part due to rising resident employment rates in the 65 and over age group as well as for women, reflecting our efforts to raise the employability of senior workers and women. The point at which our resident workforce will stagnate will depend on a host of factors, including our continued efforts mentioned above.

2. To better support senior workers who are able and wish to continue working for longer, we have been implementing the recommendations made by the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers in 2019. These include raising the retirement and re-employment ages, increasing the CPF contribution rates of senior workers, and working with tripartite partners to facilitate companies in conducting structured career planning, and to offer more flexible employment options.
We will continue to work with tripartite partners to promote and support flexible work arrangements to support workers in managing both their work and personal commitments. This will help employers to better attract and retain workers.

3. Notwithstanding these efforts, we will have to continue to raise productivity as our resident workforce growth slows. This is why we have been focusing on technology and innovation-driven growth in our economic transformation.