Manpower minister sounds alarm on Singapore's cost competitiveness

Cheaper competitors are becoming better.

The city-state's competitiveness in offering products and services could soon erode, Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say warned. 

In a speech at SPF Productivity Conference and Exhibition 2016, the minister stated that Singapore needs to improve its productivity for the economy to grow more healthily. He argued that if the country's productivity gains continue to lag behind wage growth, its competitiveness will progressively be eroded.

"Imagine: if we ever allow our cheaper competitors to become better than us, one day, they will be cheaper and better than us. Likewise, if we ever allow our better competitors to become cheaper than us, one day, they will be better and cheaper than us. We should therefore never allow this to happen," the minister said.

The minister said in the past five years, GDP growth has dropped from an average of 4% between 2011 to 2014, to 2% in 2015, and less than 2% this year. He cited two reasons for this low growth.

"First, cyclical slowdown in the global economy has dampened demand for our products and services in the short term. Second, structural transition in our local workforce will redefine our growth capacity in the long term," he pronounced.

Mr. Lim argued that even though local labour force is still growing, the rate of growth has dropped sharply, from 4% to 2%, towards 1% by 2020.

He cautioned that this could even stagnate in the next decade.

"The only workable and sustainable solution is to up our productivity gain," he said. "With better education and skill profiles, those entering every year are looking for jobs that are different from those vacated by those who have left the workforce."

He furthered, "What this means is that economic transformation is important - not just because they will bring about higher productivity for the economy to grow more healthily - but because they will bring about better jobs and better wages for our people to grow better in their careers.