No shift in hiring preferences for now amid Middle East war concerns: Tan See Leng

SINGAPORE: Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said Singapore has not observed any shift in firms’ hiring preferences between local and foreign workers despite growing concerns over the labour market amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Speaking during a parliamentary sitting on 7 May 2026, Dr Tan said resident employment continued to grow in the first quarter of 2026 and remained stronger than the same period a year earlier.

“Our resident employment continued to grow in the first quarter of 2026, and that growth was higher compared with the first quarter of 2025,” Dr Tan said.

“Our work pass policies also ensure that Singaporeans are given a level playing field against foreign workers, and we do our best to ensure that our foreign workers here are complementary to our local Singaporean workers.”

Dr Tan was responding to supplementary questions from Yio Chu Kang SMC MP Yip Hon Weng, who asked whether the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had observed any changes in hiring preferences between local and foreign workers.

Yip also asked whether the ministry intended to further calibrate work pass policies if Singaporeans, particularly mid-career professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), faced weaker hiring prospects.

Dr Tan said MOM had not seen shifts in firms’ hiring preferences “at the moment”.

He pointed to recent labour market figures released by the ministry, noting that resident employment growth in the first quarter of 2026 exceeded the increase recorded in the same quarter of 2025.

Employment growth slows despite continued expansion

Singapore’s total employment grew by 5,000 in the first quarter of 2026, extending the country’s streak of 18 consecutive quarters of employment growth.

The increase was higher than the 2,300 jobs added during the first quarter of 2025.

However, it marked a significant slowdown from the 17,700 jobs added in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Dr Tan acknowledged that businesses were becoming more cautious in their hiring plans amid heightened economic uncertainty linked to geopolitical developments.

He said energy-intensive industries and outward-oriented sectors were among the most affected by rising energy costs caused by the Middle East crisis.

“The crisis has also increased domestic operating costs and compounded challenges for export-oriented sectors which are already impacted by global trade fragmentation,” he said.

According to MOM’s survey released earlier in the previous week, the proportion of firms intending to hire over the next three months fell from 54.6 per cent in February 2026 to 44.6 per cent in March 2026.

Despite the decline, Dr Tan said there were “early signs of stabilisation” in April.

He added that data from the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Department of Statistics suggested hiring sentiments were likely to stabilise further and improve over the longer term.

Work pass policies under review

Dr Tan said the Government continued to calibrate its work pass policies in response to labour market conditions.

He cited measures announced during Budget 2026, including increases in Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass qualifying salaries, which are scheduled to take effect from January 2027.

“We’ve been continually calibrating our work pass policies in response to labour market conditions,” he said.

Dr Tan also said MOM regularly reviewed the Complementarity Assessment Framework (Compass) Shortage Occupation List (SOL) to remove occupations that were no longer experiencing labour shortages.

He said the Government sought to strike a balance between supporting businesses and safeguarding opportunities for local workers.

“We always seek to strike the right balance between ensuring that our businesses have that space, the latitude to continue to grow, while ensuring that our local Singaporean workers and talent continue to also have that trajectory for them to grow,” he said.

Dr Tan added that job seekers needing assistance could tap support schemes and career services offered by Workforce Singapore (WSG) and SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG).

He said MOM stood ready to provide further support measures if necessary, depending on economic and labour market conditions.

Economic strategy review report to be released

During the parliamentary exchange, Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Dr Choo Pei Ling asked whether Singapore’s workforce planning approach was being adapted to manage overlapping disruptions from trade fragmentation, technological changes and sectoral restructuring.

In response, Dr Tan said he had reviewed a draft of the forthcoming Economic Strategy Review report, which would address many of the issues raised.

“I had the opportunity of reading the draft of the Economic Strategy Review report. I think it is going to be released soon, and many of the points that she covered will and have actually been addressed in the report,” he said.

Questions over long-term structural impact

Separately, Bukit Panjang SMC MP Liang Eng Hwa asked whether the Middle East conflict could trigger lasting structural changes in global industries that might affect investments and jobs in Singapore.

Liang also asked whether the crisis could create opportunities for Singapore in sectors such as oil refining, energy trading and energy transition industries.

Tan said it was too early to determine the long-term structural impact because the conflict was still evolving.

However, he said existing global shifts were likely to accelerate, including supply chain diversification, digitalisation, artificial intelligence adoption, energy transition efforts and energy resilience strategies.

Tan said increasing adoption of artificial intelligence would drive demand for energy-intensive data centres, making energy “the new currency” for economies.

He added that disruptions such as possible blockages in the Straits of Hormuz posed risks to global trade and energy flows but could also encourage countries and companies to diversify supply chains and deepen capabilities within the energy ecosystem.

Tan said Singapore’s strategic location and reputation as a trusted partner could strengthen its position as a reliable energy, logistics and trading hub.

He also highlighted opportunities for Singapore in advanced manufacturing, finance and healthcare sectors.