The Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Migrant Worker Experience and Migrant Worker Employer Surveys showed high satisfaction levels among both migrant workers in Singapore and their employers. More than 9 in 10 migrant workers were satisfied with their working and living conditions in Singapore in 2024 – the highest satisfaction level since the survey was first conducted in 2011.1  From the inaugural 2024 survey with employers of migrant workers, 7 in 10 were satisfied with the quality of their migrant workers. The high worker retention rate, with 3 in 4 employers renewing the work permits for over 80% of their migrant workers, demonstrates a stable and harmonious working relationship. These findings attest to Singapore’s ongoing efforts in building an effective migrant worker management framework and supporting the well-being of our migrant workers. 

2 “Our migrant workers play a vital role in building our nation, and their well-being remains a key priority for MOM. Our survey findings affirm the positive impact of ongoing efforts to uplift standards, enhance liveability and care for our migrant workers. We will continue to work closely with employers, dormitory operators and community partners to ensure that our workers can work in safe conditions and help create a home away from home. At the same time, MOM is reviewing our Work Permit framework so that employers can have better access to higher-skilled migrant workers, supporting our transformation towards a higher-quality workforce,” said Minister of State for Manpower, Mr. Dinesh Vasu Dash.

3 These are the key findings from the Migrant Worker Experience Survey:

Satisfaction with working and living conditions continued to improve

In 2024, 95.3% of migrant workers reported being satisfied with working and living in Singapore, an improvement from 2018 (86.3%) and it is the highest level recorded since the survey began in 2011.
A large majority (96.7%) indicated they intended to continue working with their current employer or return to Singapore in the future. This is an increase from an already strong showing of 91.9% in 2018, reflecting continued confidence in Singapore as a preferred destination for work.

Trust in MOM’s regulatory role remained high

Building on the trend of improved sentiments, 92.3% of migrant workers said they would recommend Singapore as a place to work in 2024, up from 84.0% in 2018. The top reasons cited were Singapore’s safe working environment, mentioned by 84.4% of respondents, followed by high salary (71.2%) and adequate worker protection (65.2%).
In terms of regulatory trust, 97.0% agreed that MOM had been effective in protecting them, and the same proportion felt their working conditions were safe — up from around 87% in 2018 for both indicators.
Ease of access to assistance also improved, with 89.3% finding it easy to approach MOM on employment-related matters, compared to 82.8% in 2018. 
Trust within the workplace appeared strong as well – almost all (99.5%) said they would turn to their supervisor or employer in the event of a work injury.

Fair employment practices remained widespread

Adoption of electronic salary payment was nearly universal, with 92.0% of migrant workers receiving their pay directly into their bank accounts.
Additionally, 88.5% said they were provided with their preferred food arrangements — typically cooking their own meals or purchasing food from stalls — suggesting employers’ responsiveness to worker preferences.

4 These are the key findings from the Migrant Worker Employer Survey2:

Employers reported generally positive sentiments toward their workers

Among employers, 70.8% expressed satisfaction with the quality of their migrant workers; only a small minority (1.4%)3 reported dissatisfaction, suggesting that employers have generally positive sentiments toward their migrant workers.
In terms of retention, 75.2% said they had renewed the work permits of more than 80% of their migrant workforce, indicating a stable employment relationship.

Efforts to improve engagement and workforce quality were common

Employers were proactive in retaining workers as 88.8% of employers would offer benefits, most commonly salary increments (81.7%), to encourage workers to stay.
Beyond mandatory requirements, 80.6% of employers provided additional training to upskill their migrant workers, demonstrating commitment to maintaining a skilled migrant workforce.
81.7% also considered the mandatory medical insurance coverage stipulated by MOM to be sufficient.

However, access to skilled labour remained a concern

While 47.5% of employers felt they had good access to migrant workers overall, only 27.3% said it was easy to find migrant workers with the relevant skills. This suggests there is room for improvement to enable employers to hire higher-skilled workers, particularly in more specialised roles.

Conclusion

5 We are encouraged by the high and rising levels of satisfaction among workers, as well as their continued trust in MOM’s regulatory role. The strong adoption of fair employment practices and high employer retention rates point to a well-functioning system. Through close collaboration among the Government, employers, workers and stakeholders such as dormitory operators and non-governmental organisations, we have made significant improvements in migrant workers’ well-being and continued to maintain a positive work environment for them. MOM’s strong regulatory framework and progressive measures have also fostered trust and confidence in Singapore as a place of work.

6 We note areas that warrant closer attention – in particular, the growing difficulty reported by employers in finding workers with the right skills. As announced at MOM’s Committee of Supply 2025, we will continue to enhance the Work Permit framework to further raise the quality of our Work Permit holders and enable employers to hire and retain higher quality workers. We will continue to work closely with key stakeholders to improve workers’ living conditions and support their well-being. MOM’s first built-and-owned Purpose-Built Dormitory, scheduled for completion in early 2026, reflects the higher standards MOM is working towards – with spaces designed for liveability and improved public health resilience.

About the survey

7 The survey is part of the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to better understand the experiences of migrant workers working and living in Singapore, as well as the employers’ perspectives on hiring and managing their migrant workforce. A total of 2,825 migrant workers and 2,212 employers were surveyed between October 2023 and February 2024 for the 2024 survey. To ensure that the survey results are representative of the migrant worker population and the employers that hire them, the survey samples were selected randomly from sampling frames designed to reflect the population profiles of migrant workers and employers of migrant workers in Singapore. While MOM conducts a survey with migrant workers every five years, this was the first time MOM surveyed employers of migrant workers to understand their perspectives on hiring and managing their migrant workforce.

8 The full report on the survey findings is available on MOM’s website at
stats.mom.gov.sg. For data requests and queries pertaining to the report, please reach out to the MOM’s Manpower Research and Statistics Department at mom_rsd@mom.gov.sg.