Singapore on Monday tightened curbs on foreign labor for a fourth consecutive year, as the government seeks to reduce companies' reliance on overseas workers amid a public backlash over the influx.
The government will increase levies that companies must pay for lower-skilled foreign employees over the next two years and cut the proportion of overseas workers allowed in some industries, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in his budget speech in Parliament. He raised tariffs on high-end homes while also announcing income tax rebates and cash handouts.
The push by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's government to reduce the city-state's dependence on imported labor has led to a shortage of workers and increased business costs, after hundreds of thousands were allowed in annually in previous years. The clampdown has driven the jobless rate to a five-year low, and Lee has warned that curbs on foreigners will hurt expansion in Southeast Asia's only advanced economy.