Real median income in S'pore up 4.3% in 2025 amid lower inflation

Proportion of workers in permanent jobs also hits new high of almost 91 per cent

- Sharon Salim Business Correspondent

Singapore workers saw their incomes grow in 2025 after taking lower inflation into account, while the proportion of the workforce in permanent jobs hit a high of over 90 per cent, according to data released by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on Nov 28.

These trends indicate that Singapore's labour market is stable despite a more uncertain external environment, it added.

Real incomes rose 4.3 per cent for resident workers at the median wage level. Residents refer to those who are either citizens or permanent residents here.

Lower-wage earners also saw greater strides in their pay. Real incomes rose 3.8 per cent for those at the bottom 20 per cent threshold, MOM's preliminary labour force data showed.

These figures are preliminary as full-year inflation data is not yet available for 2025.

Real income growth exceeded the past decade's annual averages of 2.9 per cent for those at the 20th-percentile level, and 2.1 per cent for those at the median salary, Mr Ang Boon Heng, MOM director, manpower research and statistics department, said at a media briefing on Nov 26.

The 4.3 per cent growth in real median income in 2025 was more than the 3.2 per cent rise in 2024, due in part to Singapore's inflation continuing to ease this year.

For 2024 as a whole, core inflation averaged 2.7 per cent, while the official forecast for 2025 is 0.5 per cent. With continued nominal income growth and inflation easing, real incomes grew in 2025, higher than the growth seen over the past decade.