Despite official reports on Singapore’s tight labour market where there are more available jobs than workers, citizens’ complaints about employment struggles still exist. What can be done to close the gap in position between the government and the governed?

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) recently released a report on vacancies in the Singapore job market for September 2014. According to the report, the number of available jobs rose to 67,400, the highest in six years.

This seems to be incongruent with the sentiments of Singaporeans regarding the job scene expressed in public discourse. Singaporeans complain about how some of them find a hard time getting employment as job openings are being filled by foreigners. What more can be done to make the government and the people see eye to eye?

…Priscilla Cabuyao is a Senior Analyst at the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS), S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University.