Singapore leads ASEAN’s first labour statistics network to inform policy

The ASEAN Labour Statisticians Network (ALSN) was launched on October 27 to help member states share expertise across borders and support evidence-based policymaking for the rapidly evolving labour market.

As part of a five-year workplan led by Singapore, the network is set up by the Manpower Research and Statistics Department (MRSD) of the country’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) together with ASEAN member states. 

ALSN serves as a platform for labour statisticians to exchange research, methodologies and practical tools, share experiences around labour statistics and policies. 

Each ASEAN member state can nominate its own representatives, be it academics, statisticians, labour policy specialists, and economists, to participate in the network.   

Singapore as the network convenor 

Announced ahead of Singapore’s ASEAN chairmanship next year, the platform is the region’s first for collaboration on labour statistics.  

The official release claimed that the initiative supports Singapore’s chairmanship priorities of centrality and unity. 

At a media briefing, MRSD’s representatives shared that MOM is currently working with ALSN members to adapt the AI exposure index (an analytical tool developed by MOM) and the AI adoption study to assess the impact of AI on different jobs and the overall labour market. 

"Across ASEAN and around the world, artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how work is done and the skills employers need," said MOM's permanent secretary, Stanley Loh, at the opening address of the launch event. 

"Demographic shifts, the transition towards greener economies, and new forms of employment are reshaping our labour markets," he added. 

Labour statisticians thus need to refine what is being measured and how information is collected, as well as ensure findings address policymakers' current gaps in understanding. 

Beyond just mere labour participation data, policymakers today increasingly need to understand which occupations are transforming; who benefits from these changes; and in turn, who risks being left behind, said the International Labour Organisation's (ILO) chief statistician, Ritash Sarna, in his keynote. 

"These are challenges that countries should not have to solve independently," he said.  

"Through this network, one country’s experience can become another country’s starting point."  

H. E. San Lwin, ASEAN's Deputy Secretary-General for Socio-Cultural Community, expressed his hope that ASEAN members states "will nominate the right persons who can benefit most from this network and also share technical expertise with others."

Turning collaboration into action 

The ALSN will kick off its work with several initiatives: 

The network will have a designated office, where work will be done to coordinate programmes, build international partnerships, and sustain intra-ASEAN cooperation. 

ALSN will also launch the ASEAN Labour Market Knowledge Portal, which is a repository of methodologies, research findings, and practical tools and lessons from member states. 

For now, the portal will be first made accessible to the national statistics office (NSOs) of ALSN’s members, stated MRSD’s representatives at a media briefing. 

Interested member states can also collaborate on ALSN Co-Creation Incubator Projects, where they will jointly develop and test methods for addressing the challenges they have in common. 

Projects currently under the incubator, developed by MOM’s statistical specialists, range from AI-assisted job redesign and survey interviewer training, to programmes which improve job descriptions, or which identify new and emerging occupations. 

The gaps in today's labour data are "(illustrated) precisely" by the case of digital platform work, said Sarna. 

While the market had changed, statisticians' measurement approaches had not adapted to new issues like who counts as a platform worker today, or how to capture data for more "sporadic" forms of work. 

The network's success will be measured by how much it improves labour market intelligence and its effectiveness in supporting policymakers, said Lwin. 

"The challenge is not simply to produce more statistics; it is to produce the right evidence at the right time for the decisions countries need to make," said Sarna. 

He noted that differences in ASEAN member states' economies, demographics, and institutions will mean the same statistics can be applied differently across countries. 

But ultimately, "evidence should help us answer a simple but fundamental question: 'Did the policy work?'”, he said. 

"As Singapore prepares to take on the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2027, we hope to build on this collaboration and strengthen our collective ability to navigate the future of work," said Loh. 

Singapore will head the network for a five-year duration, but it will be the aim to continue the ALSN beyond that, says an MRSD representative.