Jobs Support Scheme Beneficiaries

Parliamentary Question by Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim:

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance whether there are statistics pertaining to the ultimate beneficiaries of the Jobs Support Scheme by (i) income quintile (ii) race (iii) educational status and (iv) gender.

Parliamentary Question by Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song: 

To ask the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance to date, what is (i) the total amount of funds disbursed and (ii) the total number of workers benefiting from the Jobs Support Scheme, with a breakdown of both numbers by industry sector.

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Parliamentary Reply by Second Minister for Finance, Mr Lawrence Wong: 

With your permission, Mr Speaker, may I take questions 13, and 14 together? 

The Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) provides wage support to employers to help them retain their local employees during this period of economic uncertainty. We do not track the detailed breakdown of the profile of JSS beneficiaries as requested by A/P Lim. But as the JSS is meant to support all local employees in Singapore in eligible businesses, the profile should mirror that of the broader Singapore economy and employed local workforce.

As the JSS is calculated as a percentage of wages up to the first $4,600, lower-wage workers account for a higher share of JSS payouts than their share in total wages.

In terms of industry breakdown, based on the JSS payouts that have been made so far (which cover wages for October 2019 to April 2020), the amount of JSS disbursed to Tier 1 sectors is about $2.2 billion, benefitting 223,000 employees. Tier 1 sectors comprise aviation, aerospace, tourism, hospitality, conventions and exhibitions, and built environment.

For Tier 2 sectors, which comprise arts & culture, marine & offshore, food services, land transport and retail sectors, the total JSS paid out is about $1.9 billion, benefitting 317,000 employees. 

For the remaining sectors, the total JSS paid out is about $12.4 billion, benefitting 1.7 million employees.