Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower announced that it will extend its jobs support programme, the Jobs Growth Incentive, by another six months, from October 2021 to March 2022, to support employers to continue expanding local hiring.

The Ministry added that support levels will be tapered down in line with improving conditions.

In the first nine months of implementation of the programme, as at May 2021, close to 400,000 locals were hired by 58,000 businesses to expand their local workforce with support from the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI). This was an increase of about 128,000 JGI-supported hires as at February 2021, which MOM last reported in July 2021. Nearly all (99%) of these businesses were small-medium enterprises (SMEs). About half of the businesses hired one to two local workers, while the rest hired more.

From October 2021 to March 2022, employers that meet the JGI eligibility criteria will receive the following wage support for their new local hires. PwD refers to professionals with disabilities.

JGI-eligible employers have continued to hire from a wide pool of jobseekers, including the unemployed, those from different sectors, and mature workers. The programme continued to support hiring across many sectors. Four in ten continued to be in growth sectors (such as Wholesale Trade, Professional Services and Information & Communications), while one in five were in the recovering Food Services and Retail sectors.