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The Big Read: F&B manpower woes — whither the big productivity push? Or are there just too many eateries in S'pore?

Government agencies have stressed the need for the F&B sector to reduce its manpower reliance and pointed out that there is an "oversaturation" in the industry, with more and more F&B firms being set up even during the pandemic years

Government agencies have stressed the need for the F&B sector to reduce its manpower reliance and pointed out that there is an "oversaturation" in the industry, with more and more F&B firms being set up even during the pandemic years

SINGAPORE — The F&B industry was among the hardest hit sectors during the pandemic over the past two years.

However, despite the manpower shortage and the dismal business environment for F&B operators, the number of new companies in the sector, in fact, significantly outstripped those which called it quits in 2020 and 2021.

The manpower shortage has hit home especially in recent weeks, as Singapore significantly eased its Covid-19 restrictions.

And F&B businesses expect the manpower crunch to worsen and impede the sector's recovery when tourism picks up again. In fact, the interdependence between the two sectors should also make policymakers sit up to address the issue, some felt.

Amid the competition for manpower "due to the oversaturated F&B sector", Government agencies said there is a “pressing need" to improve the sector’s productivity and reduce its reliance on labour.

The agencies also pointed out that the sector’s low productivity "has an impact on the job quality and locals’ wages for the sizeable number of locals employed in F&B".

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