Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen told Parliament yesterday that these countries have realised the value of using foreign labour to beef up a limited local workforce.

Singapore's 'secret' behind its successful labour policies, said Dr Ng, was allowing businesses here access to foreign workers to meet their manpower needs.

Rather than taking jobs away from Singaporeans, this has resulted in the creation of good-paying jobs for Singaporeans, he said.

Dr Ng noted that Australia and Britain have liberalised their policies to attract foreign talent recently. And countries that have controlled the admission of lower-skilled foreign workers tightly, such as Canada, and even traditionally closed societies such as South Korea, have also begun to relax their criteria for allowing in foreign workers to support growth.

He said: 'These countries realise businesses will relocate if they cannot have workers to compete effectively.

'A result of that would be a slowing economy, fewer jobs created and declining incomes.'

Dr Ng stressed that Singapore would have faced slower growth with fewer jobs created if it had relied solely on its limited local labour pool. Last year, he said that 92,100, or 39 per cent, of jobs created went to Singaporeans, and that more locals are now employed than ever before.

Last year, 1.6 million Singaporeans aged 25 to 64 were working - a record employment rate of 76.5 per cent. That same year also saw median monthly wages for Singaporeans in full-time employment rising 7.7 per cent to $2,330.

Dr Ng expects employment to continue growing this year, but it is likely to be slower than last year when a record 236,600 jobs were added in just over a year - a growth of 9.5 per cent that is 'hard to believe', he noted.

He said the bulk of new jobs will be in the services sector, especially the tourism-related industries driven by strong tourist traffic and various large-scale events slated for this year.

Dr Ng also offered an assurance that there will be sufficient jobs for locals this year, including new job seekers.

He said that expanding Singapore's local workforce with foreign manpower has increased job opportunities for Singaporeans, allaying fears that it might result in citizens being pushed out of jobs.

Dr Ng added: 'In today's borderless global economy, businesses move to places where capital, ideas and labour are readily available.

'This is the virtuous circle we need to keep in - to match business plans to manpower availability and concentrate talent here to maximise innovation, entrepreneurial skills and capacity.'