Singapore’s Real Wage Growth Slows to 0.4% in 2023, though wages grew across all industries

Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has just released its 2023 Report on Wage Practices, revealing a slowdown in wage growth despite a tight labour market. The economy grew by just 1.1%, and headline inflation was 4.8% in 2023.

Nominal and real wages for resident employees who were continuously employed for at least 12 months with the same employer continued to grow by 5.2% in 2023, down from 6.5% in 2024. When inflation is factored in, real wages grew by just 0.4%.

2023 also saw 82.1% of establishments reporting profitability, though this was also slightly lower than in 2022, which resulted in 65.6% of employers giving wage increases to their employees, compared to 72.2% in 2022. Wage increases were also correspondingly smaller in 2023 (7.2%) compared to 2022 (7.9%), while the magnitude of wage cuts was larger in 2023 (-6.2%) than in 2022 (-4.5%).

According to the MOM, wage growth in 2023 was across all industries and all employee types. As Singapore’s economy is expected to improve further in 2024, we should see continued wage growth for Professional Manager Executive and Technician (PMET) workers in the Information & Communications, Financial Services, Professional Services and Health & Social Services sectors. However, the expected nominal wage growth in 2024 will remain similar to 2023.

Feature Image: K8 @ Unsplash