SMU Professor of Economics Hoon Hian Teck said that the national job banks that will start operating from August can also make it cheaper for firms to hire workers. He added that the "reduced cost of recruitment and tighter labour market can mean higher wage earnings." He was supporting the view that the outlook is not entirely bleak, despite the double whammy of higher foreign worker levies and a manpower crunch that could send labour costs in some sectors soaring by as much as 20 per cent this year.