Datasets
Foreign Workforce Counts and Quotas
Official December 2025 work-pass counts and August 2026 employer quota ceilings, with nested categories, reference periods, and denominators kept explicit to prevent invalid addition or comparison.
Foreign Workforce Counts and Quotas
Counts and percentages below answer different questions. Work-pass categories can be nested, and employer quota shares are not population shares. Never add a subtotal to the total containing it or compare a December count directly with Singapore's June population without naming both periods.
Work-pass holders — December 2025
| MOM series | Holders | Inclusion note |
|---|---|---|
| Employment Pass | 203,300 | Part of total foreign workforce |
| S Pass | 178,900 | Part of total foreign workforce |
| Work Permit, total | 1,222,700 | Includes the two Work Permit rows below and other Work Permit holders |
| └ Migrant domestic workers | 316,900 | Subset of Work Permit total |
| └ Construction, marine shipyard and process sectors | 482,600 | Subset of Work Permit total; excludes domestic workers |
| Other work passes | 30,800 | Includes LOC, pre-approved LOC, Training Work Permit and Training Employment Pass |
| Total foreign workforce | 1,635,700 | Includes migrant domestic workers |
| Total excluding migrant domestic workers | 1,318,800 | Alternative published scope, not an extra category |
| Total excluding domestic workers and CMP Work Permits | 836,200 | Alternative published scope, not an extra category |
Source: MOM foreign workforce numbers, accessed 8 August 2026. Figures are for December 2025, may not add exactly because of rounding, and should be replaced—not silently combined—when MOM revises the series.
Employer Dependency Ratio Ceilings — August 2026
| Employer sector | Overall DRC: maximum WP + S Pass share of total workforce | S Pass sub-quota |
|---|---|---|
| Construction | 83.3% | 15% |
| Process | 83.3% | 15% |
| Marine shipyard | 75% | 15% |
| Manufacturing | 60% | 15% |
| Services | 35% | 10% |
Source: MOM quota and levy requirements, accessed 8 August 2026. The S Pass share sits within, not on top of, the overall DRC. Employment Pass holders are outside these numerical quotas. Source-country, occupation, and other sub-quotas may further restrict hiring.
Denominator and interpretation
The quota is calculated for an employer, not for the national workforce. “Total workforce” for this purpose combines the employer's recognised local workforce with its issued Work Permits and S Passes. A local employee generally contributes to the quota count through regular CPF contributions and the applicable Local Qualifying Salary rule; a person paid between half and the full LQS may count as half a local employee. Check MOM's exact current averaging, exclusion, rounding, and business-sector rules before calculating an entitlement (MOM LQS, accessed Aug 2026).
The percentage is a ceiling, not an entitlement. Pass eligibility, levy payment, source-country permissions, occupation rules, housing and medical obligations, and MOM approval still apply. A company's unused quota cannot be transferred to an unrelated employer, and a national count cannot reveal whether a particular firm has space.
NTS Occupation List additions — effective 1 September 2026
These are restricted occupations for Work Permit holders from approved non-traditional source countries, not a national workforce percentage or a new settlement category.
| Sector | Added occupations | Key employer condition |
|---|---|---|
| Food services | Butchers, fishmongers and related food preparers; food/drink stall assistants; kitchen assistants; waiters | Services-sector work-pass account and SFA Food Shop or Supermarket licence in the firm's name |
| Air transportation | Cabin attendants | Valid CAAS-issued Singapore Air Operator Certificate or Foreign Operator's Permit with scheduled services to/from Singapore |
| Social services / childcare | Babysitters or infant caregivers; educarers; teacher aides | Valid ECDC licence or appointment under the ECDA ChildMinding Pilot |
The expanded list remains subject to an 8% NTS sub-Dependency Ratio Ceiling and a fixed monthly salary of at least S$2,000 for the NTS Work Permit holder. Source: MOM NTS Occupation List and MOM requirements FAQ, accessed 26 August 2026.
Record details
- Also known as
- []
- Jurisdiction
- SG
- What each row represents
- one dated work-pass count or employer-sector quota with explicit population and denominator
- Update cadence
- after MOM workforce releases or foreign-manpower quota and levy changes
- Source format
- markdown
Dates describe this record’s own period and applicability. A verification date does not mean a rule is currently in force.
Sources
- Ministry of Manpower — Foreign workforce numbers Accessed 2026-08-10
- Ministry of Manpower — S Pass quota and levy requirements Accessed 2026-08-10
- Ministry of Manpower — Local Qualifying Salary Accessed 2026-08-10
- Ministry of Manpower — Non-Traditional Sources Occupation List Accessed 2026-08-26
- Ministry of Manpower — Requirements for new NTS occupations from 1 September 2026 Accessed 2026-08-26
Collection as of 2026-10-07 · An expanding collection. Published counts show available knowledge, not complete coverage of Singapore.