Singapore - More Singapore employers to hire fewer foreigners for rest of 2011

At least three out of five companies in Singapore hire foreign workers--both 'S' and 'E' pass holders--a recent survey of 500 firms in Singapore revealed.

In its survey on hiring trends for the second half of 2011, the manpower solutions company Achieve Group polled companies on whether they would hire more or less foreign workers in the second half of the year.

More than 300 companies indicated that they currently hire 'S' Pass holders. Of these companies, 18 per cent will hire more 'S' Pass holders while 29 per cent will hire less. The majority of these employers are from the service and industrial sectors.

'S' Pass holders are usually mid-level skilled foreigners, such as technicians, while 'E' Pass holders are foreigners holding professional, managerial, executive or specialist jobs and earning a fixed salary of at least $3,000.

The top reasons cited for hiring more 'S' Pass holders were that they 'can't find Singaporeans to do the job' (51 per cent) and business expansion (17 per cent). For those who chose to hire fewer 'S' Pass holders, 19 per cent stated that they had reached the foreign worker quota, while 18 per cent were deterred by the higher foreign worker levy.

In comparison, 404 companies presently hire 'E' Pass holders, primarily from industries such as banking and telecommunications. However, about seven in 10 indicated that they prefer to hire Singaporeans while 4 per cent would rather hire 'E' Pass holders.

The 291 respondents favouring Singaporeans did so because Singaporeans are generally paid lower salaries and are perceived to have a greater sense of loyalty and responsibility. Eighty-five per cent of the participants mentioned other reasons such as 'lesser administrative work' when hiring Singaporeans and that Singaporeans have a better knowledge of the local market.

However, more firms also indicated that they preferred to hire 'S' rather than 'E' pass holders.

The News Desk

The Straits Times

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