SINGAPORE, Feb 11: Singapore said on Tuesday it would tighten rules on work permits for foreign construction workers as the wealthy island state confronts its worst unemployment rate in nearly 15 years.

Singapore’s unemployment rate stood at 4.2 per cent in the December quarter, down slightly from a 15-year high in September. Many economists expect unemployment to worsen this year as more college students enter the workforce.

Singapore employs thousands of workers from China, India and Bangladesh in a construction market that peaked six years ago. Its floundering economy has cast a spotlight on rising joblessness in the city-state of four million people.

From October, the ratio of foreign workers allowed in the construction industry would be cut by 20 per cent, the Ministry of Manpower said.

Four foreigners will be allowed for every one Singaporean construction worker, compared to a five-to-one ratio introduced in the early 1990s as construction boomed. Foreign workers in the industry now vastly outnumber Singaporeans.

The government said it would also raise the skills required for construction jobs.

“These changes aim to reduce foreign labour reliance, upgrade the industry and improve the foreign workforce management in the industry,” the ministry said in a statement.—Reuters