Republic's fiscal system is 'fair, progressive and sustainable'

FROM Al

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decline.”

But growth alone will not automatically lead to job opportunities across all sectors, which is why Singapore must uplift the broader domestic economy, said PM Wong.

This means raising productivity, wages and career pathways across the services sector, and is why the Government is taking sustained action in areas such as education, healthcare and social services.

This includes putting in place skills frameworks that build competencies, enable skills upgrading and support structured progression. PM Wong also pointed to increased salaries for workers in public healthcare institutions and government-supported preschools, as well as updated salary guidelines for the community care and social service sectors.

“These are not ad hoc or one-off moves ~ they are integral to our economic strategy, because inclusive growth means more than developing frontier industries,” he said.

“It also means ensuring that domestic services — services that Singaporeans rely on daily - become more productive, more professional and more attractive as careers.”

To MPs’ questions on Singapore's fiscal surplus exceeding projections in recent years, PM Wong said this was not due to the Government being overly conservative in its forecasts, and that the country’s forecast deviations are within a reasonable range comparable with those of other advanced economies.

While the projections are prepared by Ministry of Finance economists using the best available data at the start of each financial year, the reality is that actual growth outcomes can be very different as Singapore is so dependent on the external environment, he added.