Singapore’s Jobless Support Plan to Benefit 60,000 Residents

(Bloomberg) -- Singapore’s plan to help jobless residents bounce back from employment setbacks is expected to benefit about 60,000 people each year, according to the Ministry of Manpower.

Those who previously earned up to S$5,000 ($3,836) a month will be eligible for the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support plan, the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The move is a notable shift for a government that has long resisted creating the kind of unemployment insurance program more commonly seen in other high-income nations.

The support is expected to cost about S$200 million a year, the Straits Times reported, citing the ministry. The program will start in April and those who are eligible will get up to S$6,000 over six months.

“The scheme provides temporary financial support to ease the pressure on involuntarily unemployed persons to rush into a new, potentially ill-fitting job,” the ministry said in its statement.

(Adds monthly payouts in third paragraph.)

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