New $4,500 scheme to give Singapore job seekers more time, say analysts

The maximum support amount indicates that the government aims to strike a balance between providing meaningful support and ensuring sufficient incentive for displaced workers to return to employment when they are ready, associate professor Terence Ho of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy told the StraitsTimes.

He was referring to the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme, which was recently announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

The scheme offers financial support over a period of up to six months for people who lost their job, but will also require them to go through trainings and career orientations.

"For middle-income households, it will help alleviate financial stress, but they will likely also need to rely on their savings or other sources of cash flow to tide them over," he said, adding that the amount of support will need to be adjusted as wages and living costs rise over time.

Echoing him, sociologist Tan Ern Ser said that the support of SGD1,000 a month can be seen as a "symbolic gesture" that encourages unemployed workers to get back on their feet and look for a new job.

The policy sticks close to "the fundamentals of self-help as the first line of defence," he told Channel News Asia.

Singapore National Employers Federation executive director Sim Gim Guan welcomed the new scheme.

He pointed out that although workers might lose their jobs due to the fast-paced economic changes, many companies are struggling to find people with the appropriate skills to fulfill their business requirements.

"This might necessitate these workers taking the time to reskill or upskill, to be able to meet the new job requirements."

Some analysts, however, are concerned that the amount and duration of the scheme might be less than those in other countries.

Associate Professor Walter Theseira from the Singapore University of Social Sciences said that many countries offer support based on a fraction of qualifying earnings, or to have additional allowances for those with dependants.

"It is also common for the duration of support to be longer in many countries, although this may also come with increasing requirements for training or engagement in seeking work," he told the StraitsTimes.

"I would say the scheme probably looks less generous than those common in Europe."

The support scheme is considered a key policy shift in Singapore where the government for decades has been offering little unemployment benefits to prevent citizens from taking advantage of the coffers.

PM Wong, however, said Sunday that losing a job is a major setback, which can seriously destabilize workers and their families.

The government therefore has to do something to lessen the strain on those who are affected.

"So we will help you get through the setback and bounce back stronger. But you must do your part too."