Singapore Democratic Party POFMA correction (2019)

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Through this image, the SDP insinuated that Singaporeans are losing their jobs to foreign talent. Photo from source.

The Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) is a political party in Singapore. Their article titled “SDP Population Policy: Hire S’poreans First, Retrench S’poreans last” and two Facebook posts were found to have contained falsehoods. Additionally, the SDP had paid for both Facebook posts to be boosted as advertisements.[1] Under the POFMA (Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act), SDP was ordered to correct the false statements.[2] In 2019, there were four cases of POFMA corrections involving Brad Bowyer, States Times Review, Lim Tean and SDP.

Debunked allegations

The SDP article and Facebook posts had false claims about PMET (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians) employment in Singapore. They insinuated that local PMETs were losing their jobs to foreigners. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) released data from employment surveys that debunked the following allegations.

Falling employment numbers for local PMETs

There is a constant upward trend in local PMET employment from 2015 onwards. Photo from source.
SDP's Allegation POFMA Facts[3] MOM Survey Credibility Refs.
The SDP claimed that there are less employed local PMETs in recent years. According to the Comprehensive Labour Force Survey (CLFS):
  • In 2015, 54% of the local workforce was PMETs
  • In 2019, 58% of the local workforce was PMETs
  • This is a 4% increase. There has also been a steady increase over the years.
 Large sample size 33,000 households [4][5]
Foreigners & residents
Updated data Conducted yearly [6]
Comprehensive data 7 sections in the survey [7]
88 data points

Rising employment numbers for foreign PMETs

SDP's Allegation POFMA Facts[8] Refs.
The SDP claimed that more foreign PMETs have been employed in recent years. The number of Employment Pass (EP) holders is determined by economic conditions. The numbers have not steadily increased but fluctuated over the years.
  • 2015: 187,900 EP holders
  • 2016: 192,300 EP holders
  • 2017: 187,700 EP holders
  • 2018: 185,800 EP holders
  • 2019: 189,000 EP holders
 [9]

Rising retrenchment numbers for local PMETs

There is a downward trend in local PMET retrenchment from 2016 onwards. Photo from source.
SDP's Allegation POFMA Facts[8] MOM Survey Credibility Refs.
The SDP claimed that more local PMETs have been retrenched in recent years. According to the Labour Market Survey:
  • In 2015, there were 9,090 retrenched locals. Out of which 6,460 were PMETs.
  • In 2018, there were 7,070 retrenched locals. Out of which 5,360 were PMETs.
  • There was a decrease in both the number of retrenched locals and retrenched local PMETs.
 Large sample size 22,200 households [10]
Updated data Conducted monthly [11]
Findings released quarterly [12][13]
Targeted data Used to monitor resident unemployment [14]

References / Citations

  1. ↑ “Corrections And Clarifications Regarding Falsehoods Posted By The Singapore Democratic Party”. Factually. December 14, 2019. Accessed 7 January 2020.
  2. ↑ “SDP complies with POFMA order but will apply to cancel correction directions”. Channel News Asia. December 15, 2019. Accessed 7 January 2020.
  3. ↑ “Corrections And Clarifications Regarding Falsehoods Posted By The Singapore Democratic Party”. Factually. December 14, 2019. Accessed 7 January 2020.
  4. ↑ "Labour Force Survey". Ministry of Manpower". Accessed on 10 January 2020.
  5. ↑ "Manpower Ministry to conduct labour force survey on 33,000 households". The Straits Times. May 21, 2018. Accessed on 10 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Labour Force Survey". Ministry of Manpower". Accessed on 10 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Labour Force Survey". Ministry of Manpower". Accessed on 10 January 2020.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 “Corrections And Clarifications Regarding Falsehoods Posted By The Singapore Democratic Party”. Factually. December 14, 2019. Accessed 7 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Foreign workforce numbers". Ministry of Manpower. Accessed on 10 January 2020.
  10. ↑ "Labour Force Survey". Ministry of Manpower". Accessed on 10 January 2020.
  11. ↑ "Labour Force Survey". Ministry of Manpower". Accessed on 10 January 2020.
  12. ↑ "Report: ​Labour Market Third Quarter 2018". Ministry of Manpower. December 13, 2018. Accessed on 10 January 2020.
  13. ↑ "​​Report: ​Labour Market First Quarter 2018". Ministry of Manpower. June 13, 2018. Accessed on 10 January 2020.
  14. ↑ "Labour Force Survey". Ministry of Manpower". Accessed on 10 January 2020.
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