At the autumn party conference that cabinet minister Norman Tebbit laid into the rioters and the jobless, coining as he did so one of those phrases that slips straight into the political lexicon.

"I grew up in the 1930s with our unemployed father," he told the sea of blue-ribboned Tory faithful.

"He did not riot. He got on his bike and looked for work."

The "on yer bike" jibe caused an uproar.

Then, as now, it was interpreted as an exhortation to the unemployed to raise the tempo of their job-seeking, implying that they preferred to be idle rather than accept a less-than-perfect position.

What does any of this have to do with the Southeast Asia two decades later? Well, the spirit of Mr Tebbit lives on in the unlikely surroundings of Singapore, where unemployment remains negligible, social divisions are well contained and nobody riots anymore.

In recent weeks the Lion City's jobless have been treated to a stream of advice from cabinet ministers and the pro-government Press urging them not to be "fussy" when it comes to looking for work.

There are jobs out there, the message runs, if you are not too picky.

The issue is increasingly important with lay-offs becoming more common as the recession begins to bite. It is also an emotive topic as the government has long stressed the need to import labour - both low-skilled and highly talented - to help the country develop.

Take this intervention from Abdullah Tarmugi, Community Development and Sports Minister.

"There are several hundred thousands of foreign workers here on work permits. Those of us who are retrenched should consider filling these jobs. This will not only give us some income now but will also impress our future employers that we are a practical realistic people, not fussy workers who prefer to remain unemployed for long periods," he said.

Singapore's helmsman, Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, has been driving home the same message.

On a tour of his constituency, Mr Lee told an audience of about 1000 people that older workers "should not waste time waiting for their old jobs to come back because these jobs have gone to [other countries] to take advantage of lower wages. They have to accept a change to service jobs that cannot be relocated".

You get the drift? Over the years, Singapore has always been home to a many non-citizens, and their presence remains substantial by any standards.

The statistics from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) paint a picture of a relatively small economy throwing wide the doors to foreign workers to try and keep growth going.

The bulk of those invited in are low-skilled workers from poorer Southeast Asian or South Asian states who are willing to do the work Singaporeans reject.

By the government's reckoning there is a workforce of two million.

On top of that there are 590,000 non-Singaporean workers in the country, or roughly a third as many people again.

Of these immigrants, half a million have "work permits" and take home up to S$2000 a month. The remainder are more highly skilled "employment pass" holders who are earning more than the threshold sum.

In the second quarter the seasonally adjusted jobless rate in Singapore was 2.6 percent.

Although it was well shy of the 4.4 percent peak touched in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis, it is set to rise as firms cut back on their payrolls.

In an indication of the tightening market, the MOM said that in March there were 76 job openings for each 100 job seekers.

By way of comparison, Hong Kong also has many non-citizens, but the proportion does not come close to that of its Southeast Asian rival.

Official figures reveal a domestic workforce of 3,442,700, plus 536,000 foreigners, most of whom come from the Philippines. Curiously, immigration officials could not say how many were actually employed.

Even if they were all in jobs, however, it would represent 13.5 per cent of the SAR's total workforce, compared with the Lion City's 23 per cent.

Given the slowdown in Singapore one can expect a great many more Tebbit-style calls as a tough year continues to unfold.

Or as the sports minister put it: "In times like this, you cannot afford to be choosy. Your priority now is to get a job."