ASEAN labour statistician network launched ahead of Singapore’s 2027 chairmanship

The ASEAN Labour Statisticians Network (ALSN), launched on October 27, 2023, aims to create a coordinated system for data collection and analysis among ASEAN member states, helping businesses and workers benefit from a stronger regional community. The network, led by Singapore's Ministry of Manpower (MOM), will address emerging trends in jobs and skills earlier, ensuring sustained cooperation among countries.

With Singapore set to chair ASEAN in 2027, the platform will foster knowledge, methodologies, and expertise sharing among labor experts, statistical communities, and policymakers. As the world of work evolves, rapid changes in jobs and skills due to demographic shifts and artificial intelligence require labor statistics to keep pace, according to MOM Permanent Secretary Stanley Loh.

The network's inaugural forum in October 2023 saw over 150 leading labor market experts from ASEAN, with MOM's Loh announcing a regional knowledge portal and joint incubator projects to support member states in developing new methods for collecting and analyzing labor market information. For example, the AI Exposure Index examines how AI could affect specific tasks within jobs, rather than assuming entire occupations will be replaced.

The ASEAN Green Jobs Report, released at the forum, provides a regional assessment of green jobs and skills across all 11 ASEAN member states.

ASN’s first global engagement visit took place in September 2023 in Bilbao, Spain, where over 20 delegates from nine ASEAN member states attended workshops and site visits organized by the German government's Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) RECOTwin. GIZ supports ASEAN labor officials on labor market and skills policy.