Wage support may help save jobs - but not all of them

Annabeth Leow

Published Thu, Mar 26, 2020 · 09:50 PM

Singapore

THE financial ordeal is far from over, but a fresh round of wage support could stave off the spectre of layoffs, especially for workers in sectors reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.

"By reducing the risk of large-scale corporate bankruptcies and job losses, the package likely better positions the economy for eventual recovery," Citi analysts Kit Wei Zheng and Ang Kai Wei wrote in a report.

More than a quarter of Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat's S$55 billion support package will go to offsetting local workers' salaries under an enhanced Jobs Support Scheme he unveiled on Thursday.

Mr Heng, who is also the Finance Minister, said "the si…