Singapore Parliament Passes Motion to Prevent AI-Driven Jobless Growth

The Singaporean Parliament unanimously passed a motion on May 6, 2026, pledging that the national transition toward artificial intelligence will avoid jobless growth. Introduced by Ng Chee Meng, the Secretary-General of the National Trades Union Congress, the motion emphasizes fairness, inclusion, and the collaborative advancement of workers and firms to ensure economic expansion does not outpace job creation.

During the debate, Ng advocated for localized market intelligence to guide workers on evolving roles and proposed expanding the AI-Ready SG initiative to provide 1 million training places. He also urged the government to raise the income ceiling of the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support Scheme to assist displaced professionals and requested earlier retrenchment notifications to accelerate worker recovery.

Manpower Minister Tan See Leng responded by highlighting that AI currently augments rather than replaces the workforce, noting that only 6% of adopting firms have reduced headcount. To support this shift, the government passed legislation to create the Skills and Workforce Development Agency by merging SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore. This new body will provide AI-powered career guidance and free access to premium AI tools beginning in the second half of 2026.

Opposition member Jamus Lim challenged the government's focus, arguing that policies should prioritize promoting new hiring over retraining. Lim warned of a hiring slowdown for entry-level workers, suggesting that AI reduces incentives for firms to hire for simple tasks, thereby preventing young graduates from gaining necessary experience.