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Foreign workforce numbers

Pass type Dec 2015 Dec 2016 Dec 2017 Dec 2018 Dec 2019 Dec 2020
Employment Pass (EP) 187,900 192,300 187,700 185,800 193,700 177,100
S Pass 178,600 179,700 184,400 195,500 200,000 174,000
Work Permit (Total) 997,100 992,700 965,200 972,600 999,000 848,200
  • Work Permit (MDW)
 231,500 239,700 246,800 253,800 261,800 247,400
  • Work Permit (CMP sectors)
 423,300 407,500 360,700 355,700 370,100 311,000
Other work passes2 23,600 28,300 30,700 32,100 34,700 32,200
Total foreign workforce 1,387,300 1,393,000 1,368,000 1,386,000 1,427,400 1,231,500
Total foreign workforce
(excluding MDWs) 		1,155,800 1,153,200 1,121,300 1,132,200 1,165,600 984,100
Total foreign workforce
(excluding MDWs and Work Permits in CMP sectors) 		732,500 745,700 760,600 776,500 795,500 673,100

You can download the Foreign Workforce Numbers file.

FOOTNOTE

  1. Data may not add up to the total due to rounding.
  2. “Other work passes” includes Letter of Consent (LOC), pre-approved LOC, Training Work Permit (TWP) and Training Employment Pass (TEP).
  3. 2019 data are revised to reflect updates in Pre-approved Letter Of Consent (PLOC) numbers.