By Xinghui Kok
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's population grew 5% in a year as foreign workers returned to the city-state following the pandemic, data released on Friday showed.
There were 5.9 million people in Singapore as of June, up from 5.6 million in June last year. Of these, 61% were Singaporeans, 9% were permanent residents and 30% were foreigners working or studying in the country.
The bulk of the population increase came from foreign employment, with 162,000 foreign workers coming to Singapore from June 2022 to June this year.
The National Population and Talent Division said the largest increase came from workers in the construction, marine shipyard and process sectors as contractors hired more workers for projects that were delayed by the pandemic.
The labour market has remained tight since the country dropped pandemic restrictions last April, with total employment at 3.8% above its pre-pandemic level in Q1 this year.
The economy grew 3.6% in 2022.
The government, however, expects growth to be sluggish this year. The ministry in August narrowed its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 0.5% to 1.5% this year from 0.5% to 2.5% previously.
In 2020, Singapore's population shrank by 2%. It was the first time the population had fallen since the 1970s as 47,000 foreigners left amid strict Covid-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions.
The population shrank further in 2021 as 147,000 foreign workers left Singapore, causing the population to drop to 5.45 million.
(Reporting by Xinghui Kok; editing by Christina Fincher)
