SINGAPORE – Singapore residents’ incomes rose above pre-Covid-19 levels this year, rebounding from last year when they took a hit for the first time in 16 years due to the pandemic.
The median nominal income of residents – Singaporeans and permanent residents – rose 3.2 percent in June this year to $ 4,680, up from $ 4,534 in June 2020, according to preliminary estimates by the Department of Labor (MOM). This is after falling 0.6 percent last year.
After taking inflation into account, the growth in real median income was 1.1 percent lower than in the previous year by 0.4 percent, the ministry announced in its annual report on Wednesday (December 1). Income data is for full-time employees and includes employer contributions to the CPF.
Overall, the labor market has gradually recovered this year, although it has not fully returned to pre-pandemic conditions, MOM noted.
“We assume that the recovery of the labor market will continue in the second half of the year and until 2022, albeit inconsistently across the sectors.”
The incomes of residents who earned less also recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
The real income of full-time employees in the 20th percentile income bracket rose 4.6 percent, excluding government disbursements.
MOM said income in the 20th
In the five years from 2016 to this year, the real income growth of the low-wage earner “remained strong, allowing them to gain further ground relative to the median income,” the ministry said in its report, which is based on mid-year data.
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Supported by efforts such as the progressive wage model to improve salaries, real income growth for full-time employees in the 20th percentile was 2.8 percent per year, above the median of 2.2 percent per year.
In MOM’s most recent monthly unemployment update on Wednesday, the October headline rate was unchanged at 2.6 percent.
The population’s unemployment rate fell to 3.4 percent in October, compared to 3.5 percent in September. The quota for citizens also improved slightly from 3.7 percent to 3.6 percent.
While residents’ unemployment rates improved over the year, they “remain high,” MOM said in its report.
The local unemployment rate for professionals, managers, executives & technicians (PMETs) fell slightly in June to 3.4 percent, compared to 3.5 percent in the previous year. For resident non-PMETs, the rate improved from 6.4 percent to 5.1 percent.
In addition, long-term resident unemployment rates who have been unemployed for 25 weeks or more remained unchanged at 0.8 percent for PMETs and 0.9 percent for non-PMETs, after rising last year.
MOM said this increased long-term unemployment rate compared to pre-pandemic levels suggests some workers who have been displaced have faced challenges in their job search.
Meanwhile, the employment rate rose in various groups, MOM attributing it to the economic recovery and support measures such as the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package, the Jobs Support Scheme and the Job Growth Incentive (JGI).
Overall, the employment rate of residents aged 15 and over rose to 67.2 percent in June compared to 64.5 percent in the previous year, according to the report.
Another breakdown showed that the employment rate for 15- to 24-year-olds rose from 30.9 percent to 37.2 percent over the same period. This is mainly due to the fact that more students take on a part-time or temporary job, said MOM.
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For residents between the ages of 25 and 64, this rate rose to 81.8 percent in June, compared to 80.3 percent in the previous year. At the same time, the rate of senior citizens aged 65 and over rose to 31.7 percent compared to 28.5 in the previous year.
In addition, 88 percent of the resident employees were in permanent positions, according to the report. The number of permanent residents has increased by 50,900.
An increased demand for temporary workers for activities related to Covid-19 and the economic uncertainty led to a new high of 8.4 percent for the proportion of temporary workers. This was an increase from 7.3 percent in the previous year and was driven by the fact that more residents took on contracts with a term of less than a year.
In its report, the ministry also highlighted that full-time workers work fewer hours per week compared to ten years ago. Full-time employees worked an average of 45 hours a week this year, compared to 49.2 hours a week in 2010.
By the end of September, more than 146,000 job seekers had been placed in positions, retention and training opportunities as part of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills package, MOM said.
The JGI, which is helping companies expand the recruitment of local job seekers, helped 58,000 companies hire more than 400,000 locals between September last year and May this year.
Personnel Secretary Tan See Leng told the media, after visiting staff at the Raffles Hotel on Wednesday morning, that the focus now is on developing local workers by improving skills while working with employers to recreate job roles for the future to design.
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission is required for reproduction.
