Tight labour raises wages in Singapore, report reveals

THE tight labour market continued to lift workers' wages in 2011 despite the slower economic growth, says the "Report on Wages in Singapore, 2011".

The report, released by the Ministry of Manpower's Research and Statistics Department today, presents the main findings of surveys on annual wage changes and wages of common occupations in Singapore in 2011.

It covers information on the change in total wages (with breakdown into basic wages and bonuses), wage restructuring as well as wages of over 300 occupations.

According to the report, total wages (including employer Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions) in the private sector rose by 6.1 per cent in 2011, higher than the growth of 5.7 per cent in 2010.

Taking into account the rise in Consumer Price Index (CPI), the increase in real terms was 0.9 per cent in 2011, lower than the gain of 2.9 per cent in 2010.

The corresponding figures, when adjusted using CPI and excluding imputed rentals on owner-occupied accommodation, were 1.9 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively.

Over the long term, real wage increases have been broadly in line with labour productivity growth.

From 2000 to 2011, real total wages (including employer CPF contributions) increased by 1.6 per cent per annum while labour productivity grew by 1.7 per cent per annum.

A large majority, or 86 per cent, of employees in the private sector were under some form of flexible wage system in December 2011, though this eased from 89 per cent a year ago, after rising from 85 per cent in 2009.

Managers remained the highest paid occupational group, with median monthly gross wages at $6,630 in June 2011.

The financial services and professional services were among the top three highest-paying industries across many occupational groups, while the accommodation & food services and construction were among the lower-paying industries.

The ministry has also published the "Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics, 2012", which provides a wide range of statistics on the labour market.

These include key data on the labour force, job vacancy, wages, redundancy, labour turnover, hours worked, conditions of employment, labour relations, workplace injuries and occupational diseases, higher education and skills training.

Bernama