Second, develop the right skills; and Third, enable the right match. So it is about Right Jobs, Right Skills, Right Match. Creating the Right Jobs First, creating jobs, and more, creating the right jobs. Associate Professor Randolph Tan said is no mean feat to “it continue to generate jobs in an increasingly sophisticated economy packed into one of the most congested cityscapes in the world.” Indeed, this is no mean feat. We not only need to create jobs but given our high cost structure, given the high level of wages already, to create jobs of high value that meet the aspirations of Singaporeans. And to do that, our firms must be competitive and productive. I showed this slide when I presented the Budget statement (See Chart 2). Now, this scatterplot shows average productivity and average wage per worker. The higher the productivity of the firm, the higher the wages that they pay to each worker. So, it shows that productive firms generally pay higher wages. Chart 2: Productivity and Wages by Selected Industries in 2014 Sources: DOS, EDB Notes: 3rd quintile of the General Manufacturing sector = 100.
Second, develop the right skills; and Third, enable the right match. So it is about Right Jobs, Right Skills, Right Match. Creating the Right Jobs First, creating jobs, and more, creating the right jobs. Associate Professor Randolph Tan said “it is no mean feat to continue to generate jobs in an increasingly sophisticated economy packed into one of the most congested cityscapes in the world.” Indeed, this is no mean feat. We not only need to create jobs but given our high cost structure, given the high level of wages already, to create jobs of high value that meet the aspirations of Singaporeans. And to do that, our firms must be competitive and productive. I showed this slide when I presented the Budget statement (See Chart 2). Now, this scatterplot shows average productivity and average wage per worker. The higher the productivity of the firm, the higher the wages that they pay to each worker. So, it shows that productive firms generally pay higher wages. Chart 2: Productivity and Wages by Selected Industries in 2014 Sources: DOS, EDB Notes: 3rd quintile of the General Manufacturing sector = 100.
FY2016_Budget_Debate_Round_Up_Speech.docx