AS the government was pushing for a larger population of immigrants, a media effort was being launched to persuade people on the need for more foreign workers.
A spate of reports told of how local businesses were suffering as a result of a shortage of workers.
The reports said that some 40% of the 6,000 SMEs were suffering because of the shortage. No reference to the real threat of rising business costs
According to the reports, three in 10 SMEs (defined as having S$1-S$10mil turnover) were considering moving away from Singapore or closing down because of manpower shortage.
These reports were half the truth. The shortage was indeed a serious obstacle to SMEs but far from being the most threatening.
So indirectly, the biggest woes to the SME are inflicted not by worker shortage, but by government policies and Singapore’s rising affluence that has significantly raised the cost of doing business.
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