Real income, employment rate for residents dip in 2023: MOM

Median workers saw their real income drop by 2.3% YoY this year.

Singapore recorded a lower resident employment rate and real income in 2023, data from the Ministry of Manpower showed.

According to MOM’s “Labour Force in Singapore Advance Release” report, real income of the 20th percentile (P20) and median (P50) workers fell 3.0% YoY and 2.3% YoY, respectively, due to high inflation.

“While real income growth for the remainder of 2023 is likely to remain negative, we expect an improvement in real income growth in 2024 with inflation easing,” the MOM said.

In the same report, MOM said the employment rate for residents declined to 66.2% in 2023 from 67.5% in 2022 amidst an “exceptionally tight labour market.”

Singapore’s employment rate, however, still ranked high amongst OECD countries, ranking fourth ahead of countries like Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Despite the decline in resident employment, Singapore’s unemployment rate improved for both PMETs (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians) and non-PMETs.

Non PMETs saw a larger decline in unemployment rate, from 4.4% in 2022 to 3.6% in 2023, compared to that for PMETs, from 2.6% in 2022 to 2.4% in 2023.