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Written Answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng to PQ on Employment Pass Holders Earning More Than $5000 in 2019, 2020 and 2021

Work passes and permits Foreign manpower

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1083 OF 2022 FOR THE SITTING ON 4 APRIL 2022
QUESTION NO. 1708 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
MP: Mr Pritam Singh
To ask the Minister for Manpower how many employment pass holders earned more than S$5,000 in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Answer:

The data requested by the Member is given in Table 1 below. From December 2019 to December 2021, the number of Employment Pass (EP) holders decreased from 193,700 to 161,700, in part due to COVID-related entry restrictions. Over the same period, the share of EP holders earning $5,000 or higher increased from 82% to 87%.

 Table 1: Number of EP holders from Dec 2019 to Dec 2021
 Year  Dec 2019 Dec 2020  Dec 2021 
All EP Holders  193,700  177,100 161,700 

EP Holders earning $5,000 or higher

(% of all EP Holders)

 157,900

(82%)

 148,800

(84%)

 141,100

(87%)
MOM regularly reviews the EP qualifying salary[1] to keep pace with local PMET[2] wages. This ensures that EP holders are of good calibre, and are not hired simply because they are cheaper than locals. Correspondingly, the share of EP holders earning higher wages has increased over time. 

Note(s) to Question No(s) 50:

[1] The EP minimum qualifying salary is currently $4,500. From September 2022, the EP minimum qualifying salary will be raised to $5,000. The qualifying salary increases progressively with age for older and more experienced candidates, up to $10,500 for a candidate in their mid-40s.

[2] Refers to Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians.