Chart of the Day: See the drastic drop in foreign worker inflows since immigration curbs started

Growth rate was slashed by more than half.

The number of foreign workers has grown at a snail's pace since policymakers first rolled out stringent immigration curbs in 2011.

This chart by Morgan Stanley shows that the year-on-year growth in foreign worker population has dropped from a high of around 1.2% in 2011 to just around 0.5% in 2014.

“In the recovery following the 2008/2009 GFC, policymakers implemented measures to moderate immigration. Relative input price signals were altered as foreign workers’ levies were raised. Lower dependency ratio ceilings were introduced to restrict the number of foreign workers relative to the total workforce. Income and education criteria were tightened for S Pass and Employment Pass applicants," Morgan stanley said.

"Meanwhile, firms hiring new employment pass holders needed to advertise job vacancies on a jobs bank administered by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency for at least 14 days to ensure fair employment opportunities for Singaporeans.The labour price shock and the labour supply shock have effectively put a dampener on growth and raised operating costs for businesses,” the report added.

Of the almost 1.4 million foreign workers in Singapore, over half or around 800,000 are Work Permit holders, excluding foreign domestic workers (FDWs).

FDWs numbered at around 200,000, at par with S pass and Employment Pass holders.