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The Department of Statistics annual Key Household Income Trends survey released data recently showing that the median household income rose to S$8,666 last year, up by S$374 in 2014.
The rise was noted from across all income groups, with those at the lowest 30% seeing the fastest growth. This rise is seen in tandem with the Progressive Wage Model efforts being aggressively implemented in the last few years.
At the lowest 10% of the rung, income growth increased by 10.7%
Income inequality was broadly unchanged over the last three years, the Gii coefficient at 0.463, similar to 0.464 in 2014. A higher Gini coefficient implies a less equal distribution of incomes.
Last year, the MOM reported that employment had strengthened. Amongst it includes:
The MOM website gives more details with regard to the breakdown of the employment growth situation last year [Link]:
For the whole of 2015, total employment is estimated to have increased by 31,800 or 0.9%, which would be the lowest year-on-year growth since 2003.
Local employment increased marginally by an estimated 100 (or 0.0%) in 2015, after growing strongly by 96,000 in 2014.
Foreign employment (excluding maids) continued to grow at a moderate pace of an estimated (22,600, or 2.0%) in 2015, slightly lower than 2014, but significantly below the levels in 2011 to 2013. The growth in foreign employment was driven by the Services sector, at both the Work Permit Holders (WPH) and Employment Pass (EP) level. The Information and Communications sector accounted for the bulk of EP holder growth, while the Construction, Transport & Storage, Food & Beverage Services as well as Administrative and Support Services sectors contributed to the bulk of the growth in Work Permit Holders.
Amidst corporate restructuring, labour MPs have reminded Parliament that Singapore must be foreign PMET lean (tighten PMET Employment Passes).
Productivity remains a bugbear as policy makers attempt new measures to improve productivity that will lead to further real wage increases.
2016 had been labeled as a year of gloom, with news of retrenchments taking the headlines. However data such as those from MOM and Department of Statistics show an otherwise healthy employment landscape.
