Staying afloat amid pandemic

Wage subsidies under the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) will be extended until September for businesses badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, but other employers in sectors that have recovered will stop receiving these subsidies after March. The Sunday Times speaks to some employers.

The new tiered wage subsidies in the latest extension under the Jobs Support Scheme aim to help employers retain their local employees during this period of economic uncertainty. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
The new tiered wage subsidies in the latest extension under the Jobs Support Scheme aim to help employers retain their local employees during this period of economic uncertainty. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

What is the Jobs Support Scheme?

Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat said last Tuesday that wage subsidies under the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) will be extended by up to six months to help businesses that remain badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic to retain workers.

Under the scheme, subsidies ranging from 10 per cent to 30 per cent will cover the wages of local workers from April to September to help them stay employed during the pandemic.

Firms in sectors worst hit by the crisis, such as aviation, aerospace and tourism, will receive 30 per cent of wages paid from April to June in September. They will also receive 10 per cent of wages paid from July to September in December.

Firms in industries also hit hard by the pandemic in the next tier, including food services, retail, marine and offshore, as well as arts and entertainment, will receive 10 per cent of wages paid from April to June. They will receive this payout in September.

The new tiered wage subsidies in the latest extension, which cost the Government $700 million, apply to the first $4,600 of gross monthly wages paid to each Singaporean or permanent resident employee.

This is the latest extension under the JSS to help employers retain their local employees during this period of economic uncertainty.

Introduced in the Budget in February last year, the scheme subsidised between 25 per cent and 75 per cent of wages paid for 10 months.

The wage support was to cover wages paid until August last year, with the final payout in October, but it was extended to provide additional payouts in March and June this year to relevant firms.

All active employers, except for local and foreign government organisations and representative offices, are eligible for the scheme.

Mr Heng said in his Budget speech that more than $25 billion has been committed to the JSS, which has supported more than 150,000 employers for up to 17 months.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on February 21, 2021, with the headline Staying afloat amid pandemic . Subscribe