26,000 employers in Singapore have benefitted from the Jobs Growth Incentive as of October 2020

About 26,000 employers in Singapore were benefitting from the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) in October 2020, just two months into the programme's implementation. 

According to the latest statistics released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), as at September 2020, 14,000 or so employers qualified for the JGI while an additional about 11,000 new employers became eligible in October 2020.

A majority of all eligible employers hired one to two local workers. About 20% of the eligible employers hired five local workers or more.

Overall, over 110,000 new local hires received support under the scheme in October 2020 - double the number as compared to the inaugural month. About half of all the new hires were aged 40 and above.

Top hiring sectors under the JGI include:

• Food Services (17,800 JGI-supported hires)
• Wholesale Trade (9,800)
• Professional Services (8,400)
• Retail (7,000)
• Construction (7,000)

Given that the JGI computation process is still ongoing, MOM will be providing updated statistics in its subsequent Jobs Situation Reports.

About the Jobs Growth Incentive 

To encourage employers to bring forward their hiring plans and accelerate the hiring of locals, the Singapore Government set aside S$1bn for the JGI to provide 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 S$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 S$15,000 for each local hire aged below 40, and S$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.

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