Singapore has one of the most internationally diverse labour markets in Asia.
From construction workers and domestic helpers to engineers, technology professionals, bankers and senior executives, foreign workers play an important role in supporting the Singapore economy.
So, how many foreigners are actually working in Singapore today?
According to the latest statistics published by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower, there were approximately 1,655,900 foreign workers in Singapore as of June 2026.
This represents a substantial foreign workforce and highlights how important overseas manpower continues to be to Singapore businesses.
The total includes foreign employees holding:
- Employment Passes
- S Passes
- Work Permits
- Migrant Domestic Worker Work Permits
- Other eligible work passes
The number has also increased significantly over the past several years.
Singapore had around 1.20 million foreign workers at the end of 2021, compared with approximately 1.66 million by June 2026.
That means Singapore’s foreign workforce has increased by roughly 455,000 workers over that period.
Latest Foreign Workforce Numbers in Singapore
As of June 2026, Singapore’s foreign workforce was approximately:
Employment Pass holders: 204,300
S Pass holders: 177,300
Work Permit holders: 1,243,600
Other work passes: 30,700
Total foreign workforce: 1,655,900
Within the Work Permit population were approximately:
323,800 migrant domestic workers
and
490,700 Work Permit holders in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors.
This clearly shows that Work Permit holders make up by far the largest segment of Singapore’s foreign workforce.
More Than 1.2 Million Foreigners Hold Work Permits
Out of Singapore’s total foreign workforce of approximately 1.656 million, around 1.244 million are Work Permit holders.
That means roughly three out of every four foreign workers in Singapore are on Work Permits.
Work Permit holders generally work in sectors where Singapore has persistent manpower shortages.
These include industries such as:
Construction
Manufacturing
Marine shipyards
Process industries
Services
Domestic work
Certain labour-intensive occupations
The size of the Work Permit population illustrates why foreign manpower remains so important to Singapore.
Many of these roles cannot easily be filled entirely by the resident labour force.
How Many Foreign Workers Are There Excluding Domestic Helpers?
Some people prefer to exclude migrant domestic workers when considering Singapore’s commercial workforce.
Singapore had approximately 323,800 migrant domestic workers as of June 2026.
When domestic helpers are excluded, Singapore’s foreign workforce stood at approximately:
1,332,100 foreign workers
This figure is particularly relevant to employers, recruitment agencies and businesses assessing the size of Singapore’s commercial foreign manpower market.
It includes people working in areas such as:
Construction
Manufacturing
Food and beverage
Logistics
Engineering
Technology
Finance
Professional services
Hospitality
Retail
Corporate management
Administrative functions
Other commercial industries
Therefore, even after excluding domestic workers, Singapore has more than 1.3 million foreign employees working across its economy.
How Many Employment Pass Holders Are Working in Singapore?
Singapore had approximately 204,300 Employment Pass holders in June 2026.
Employment Passes are generally issued to foreign professionals, managers, executives and specialists who meet Singapore’s qualifying requirements.
EP holders commonly work in industries such as:
Banking and finance
Technology
Artificial intelligence
Software development
Engineering
Professional services
Consulting
Sales
Regional management
Biotechnology
Pharmaceuticals
Digital industries
Multinational corporations
Employment Pass holders represent a much smaller part of Singapore’s foreign workforce compared with Work Permit holders.
However, EP holders typically occupy higher-paying positions and therefore represent an important segment of Singapore’s professional workforce.
How Many S Pass Holders Are Working in Singapore?
There were approximately 177,300 S Pass holders in Singapore as of June 2026.
The S Pass is commonly used for mid-skilled foreign employees.
Examples may include:
Technicians
Supervisors
Associate professionals
Experienced operational employees
Technical specialists
Certain skilled hospitality workers
Manufacturing specialists
Engineering personnel
Compared with Employment Passes, employers hiring S Pass holders are subject to quota and levy requirements.
This limits the number of S Pass employees that individual companies can hire.
The S Pass market therefore differs considerably from the Employment Pass market.
Singapore’s Foreign Workforce Has Been Growing
Looking at the longer-term figures gives a clearer picture of how Singapore’s foreign manpower market has developed.
According to MOM:
December 2021: 1,200,400 foreign workers
December 2022: 1,424,200
December 2023: 1,525,500
December 2024: 1,576,500
December 2025: 1,635,700
June 2026: 1,655,900
This means Singapore’s total foreign workforce increased by approximately 455,500 workers between December 2021 and June 2026.
That represents growth of almost 38%.
However, part of this increase reflects the rebound following pandemic-era labour disruptions.
Nevertheless, the figures clearly show that demand for foreign manpower remains substantial.
Foreign Employment Is Still Increasing in 2026
Singapore’s foreign workforce has not stopped expanding.
According to the Ministry of Manpower’s Labour Market Report for the second quarter of 2026, total employment increased by 11,400 workers during Q2 2026.
Of that increase:
2,200 came from resident employment
while
9,200 came from non-resident employment.
The increase in foreign employment was driven primarily by Work Permit holders working in construction and manufacturing.
This is particularly significant.
It suggests that most employment growth during the second quarter of 2026 came from foreign manpower rather than local manpower.
Singapore therefore continues to require overseas workers to support certain parts of its economy.
Why Does Singapore Need So Many Foreign Workers?
Singapore has a relatively small domestic population but a highly developed economy.
This creates a structural labour challenge.
There simply may not be enough local workers to fill every available position.
Foreign manpower therefore supplements Singapore’s resident workforce.
Several factors explain the continuing demand.
Labour-Intensive Industries
Industries such as construction require large numbers of workers.
Singapore continues to build:
Public housing
Private housing
Infrastructure
MRT lines
Industrial facilities
Commercial developments
Data centres
Hospitals
Schools
Transport infrastructure
These projects require large numbers of construction workers.
Foreign manpower therefore remains critical.
Manufacturing Requires Significant Foreign Manpower
Manufacturing is another important part of Singapore’s economy.
Although Singapore is moving towards advanced manufacturing, automation and robotics, factories still require employees.
Foreign workers may perform roles involving:
Production
Equipment operation
Assembly
Quality control
Maintenance
Warehouse operations
Packing
Logistics
Technical work
Singapore’s Q2 2026 employment statistics show that manufacturing was one of the sectors responsible for the increase in foreign employment.
Foreign Workers Support Singapore’s Services Economy
Singapore’s services economy also relies on foreign manpower.
Restaurants are a good example.
Many food and beverage businesses struggle to find enough local workers for positions such as:
Kitchen assistants
Cooks
Service crews
Dishwashers
Restaurant supervisors
Other operational roles
Hotels, retail businesses and other service companies may face similar manpower constraints.
However, companies cannot simply hire unlimited foreign workers.
Singapore operates foreign worker quotas and levy systems designed to ensure employers maintain an appropriate balance between local and foreign employees.
Why Singapore Controls Foreign Manpower
Although Singapore requires foreign workers, government policy is designed to prevent excessive dependence on them.
Without controls, companies could theoretically replace large numbers of local workers with cheaper overseas labour.
Singapore therefore uses several mechanisms to regulate foreign manpower.
These include:
Foreign worker quotas
Dependency Ratio Ceilings
S Pass quotas
Foreign worker levies
Minimum salary requirements
Employment Pass qualification requirements
COMPASS for Employment Pass applications
Source-country restrictions
Sector-specific rules
Local workforce requirements
These policies attempt to achieve a balance.
Businesses need sufficient access to manpower while Singaporeans should continue to have good employment opportunities.
Work Permit Holders Dominate Singapore’s Foreign Workforce
Looking at the proportions makes the structure of Singapore’s foreign labour market particularly clear.
Out of approximately 1.656 million foreign workers:
About 1.244 million hold Work Permits.
About 204,300 hold Employment Passes.
About 177,300 hold S Passes.
About 30,700 hold other work passes.
Work Permit holders therefore represent approximately 75% of Singapore’s entire foreign workforce.
Employment Pass holders represent only around 12%.
S Pass holders account for around 11%.
This is important because public discussion of foreign employment sometimes focuses heavily on Employment Pass professionals.
However, numerically, the much larger foreign manpower market consists of Work Permit holders.
Construction, Marine and Process Workers Are a Huge Segment
Another particularly large segment is the construction, marine shipyard and process workforce.
There were approximately 490,700 Work Permit holders in these sectors as of June 2026.
That alone is more than twice the entire Employment Pass population.
These workers contribute directly to Singapore’s physical infrastructure and industrial economy.
Without sufficient foreign manpower, sectors such as construction could face:
Higher labour costs
Project delays
Longer construction timelines
Greater pressure on contractors
Higher development costs
Potential infrastructure bottlenecks
Foreign manpower therefore plays an important economic role beyond simply increasing the number of workers available.
Domestic Workers Are Another Major Foreign Workforce Segment
Singapore also had approximately 323,800 migrant domestic workers as of June 2026.
Domestic helpers play an important role in many Singapore households.
They may assist with:
Childcare
Elderly care
Household work
Cooking
Caregiving
Supporting working parents
From an economic perspective, domestic workers can also indirectly support workforce participation by allowing parents and caregivers to continue working.
This explains why migrant domestic workers represent a substantial component of Singapore’s overall foreign population.
Singapore Still Has Labour Demand
Despite concerns about economic uncertainty, Singapore’s labour market remained relatively tight in 2026.
There were approximately 148 job vacancies for every 100 unemployed persons in June 2026, according to MOM statistics.
This means there continued to be more vacancies than unemployed individuals.
Meanwhile, Singapore’s overall unemployment rate stood at around 1.9% in June 2026.
A tight labour market creates challenges for employers.
Companies may struggle to recruit sufficient workers locally.
Foreign manpower therefore becomes particularly important in industries where Singaporean workers are unavailable or unwilling to take certain positions.
Will Singapore Continue Hiring Foreign Workers?
Most likely, yes.
Foreign manpower has become structurally important to Singapore’s economy.
However, future growth is unlikely to involve simply opening the market to unlimited numbers of foreign workers.
Instead, Singapore’s approach is increasingly focused on:
Higher productivity
Better-skilled foreign workers
More competitive salaries
Greater workforce quality
Automation
Technology adoption
Responsible foreign manpower dependence
Protection of opportunities for local employees
This means foreign workers will continue to play an important role, but employers will need to become more selective.
What Does This Mean for Singapore Employers?
For employers, Singapore’s foreign workforce numbers demonstrate something important.
There remains a very large and active foreign manpower market.
However, hiring overseas workers requires more planning than before.
Employers must consider issues including:
Foreign worker quota availability
Worker nationality eligibility
Appropriate work pass
Salary requirements
Levies
Insurance
Accommodation where applicable
Medical requirements
Work pass applications
Renewals
Employment regulations
An employer may desperately need workers but still be unable to hire additional foreigners if its quota is full.
Understanding manpower regulations has therefore become increasingly important.
What Does This Mean for Employment Agencies?
For recruitment and manpower agencies, the figures demonstrate the scale of the opportunity.
A workforce of approximately 1.656 million foreigners represents a substantial recruitment ecosystem.
It creates opportunities in:
Work Permit recruitment
S Pass recruitment
Employment Pass recruitment
Overseas candidate sourcing
Foreign worker replacement
Work pass administration
Work Permit renewals
Employee onboarding
Payroll support
Insurance
Worker accommodation
HR outsourcing
Manpower consultancy
The Work Permit segment is particularly large.
With more than 1.24 million Work Permit holders, it is approximately six times the size of Singapore’s Employment Pass population.
For manpower agencies capable of establishing reliable overseas recruitment channels and employer relationships, this remains a substantial market.
How Many Foreigners Are Working in Singapore Today?
The simplest answer is:
Approximately 1.66 million.
According to the latest available Ministry of Manpower figures, Singapore had 1,655,900 foreign workers as of June 2026.
Of these:
1,243,600 were Work Permit holders
204,300 were Employment Pass holders
177,300 were S Pass holders
30,700 were on other eligible work passes.
Within the Work Permit population were approximately 323,800 migrant domestic workers and 490,700 workers in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors.
Excluding migrant domestic workers, Singapore still had approximately 1.332 million foreign workers participating in the broader commercial economy.
The figures demonstrate that foreign manpower is not a small or peripheral part of Singapore’s labour market.
It is a major component of the economy.
Conclusion
Singapore remains heavily reliant on foreign manpower.
As of June 2026, approximately 1.656 million foreigners were working in Singapore, representing a mixture of professionals, skilled workers, semi-skilled workers, domestic workers and labour-intensive sector employees.
The largest group consists of Work Permit holders, with approximately 1.244 million workers.
Meanwhile, Singapore has around 204,300 Employment Pass holders and 177,300 S Pass holders.
Foreign employment also continued increasing during 2026. Non-resident employment rose by about 9,200 during the second quarter alone, with much of that growth coming from Work Permit holders in construction and manufacturing.
The numbers demonstrate that while Singapore continues to protect and develop its local workforce, foreign manpower remains essential to sustaining economic growth.
Construction, manufacturing, domestic care, services, engineering and professional industries all rely to varying degrees on overseas workers.
For employers and manpower agencies, the Singapore foreign worker market therefore remains substantial.
The key change is not that Singapore is moving away from foreign workers.
Rather, Singapore is increasingly moving towards a foreign manpower system that emphasises productivity, appropriate skills, controlled dependency and higher-quality employment.
With around 1.66 million foreign workers currently participating in Singapore’s economy, foreign manpower will almost certainly remain a major part of Singapore’s labour market for years to come.