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Locals Hired With Incentive Doubled to 110,000

Employment practices Statistics and publications
  1. Two months into the implementation of the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI), the number of new local hires getting support under the scheme has doubled to over 110,000 compared to the inaugural month. Based on estimates of the JGI take-up in October 2020, they were employed by around 26,000 employers. About half of all the new hires were aged 40 and above.

  2. Of the 14,000 or so employers who qualified for JGI payouts as at September 2020, about 80% maintained or expanded their local hiring the following month. In October 2020, over 11,000 new employers became eligible for JGI. Majority of all eligible employers hired one to two local workers. About 20% of the eligible employers hired five local workers or more.

  3. Top hiring sectors include Food Services (17,800 JGI-supported hires), Wholesale Trade (9,800), Professional Services (8,400), Retail (7,000), and Construction (7,000). Please see Chart 1.

    Chart 1 - JGI-supported new hires as at October 2020
  4. As the JGI computation process is still ongoing, updated statistics will be provided in subsequent Jobs Situation Reports.

  5. The Government has set aside $1 billion for the JGI to encourage employers to bring forward their hiring plans and accelerate the hiring of locals. The JGI provides eligible employers with substantial salary support for all new local hires at all wage levels, with higher support for mature hires. For each new local hire aged below 40, the Government will co-pay 25% of the first $5,000 of gross monthly wages for 12 months from the month of hire. For each new mature local hire aged 40 and above, Government support is doubled to 50%. In total, eligible firms can receive up to $15,000 for each local hire aged below 40, and $30,000 for each local hire aged 40 and above. To receive the full amount of support, employers must continue to meet the eligibility criteria for the 12-month period.

    For More Information

  6. Employers can visit IRAS’s website (https://www.iras.gov.sg/irashome/Schemes/Businesses/Jobs-Growth-Incentive--JGI-/) for more information and frequently asked questions.