Real Wages in Singapore Rise 3.2% in 2024

But MOM poll also shows fall in share of firms planning pay hikes in 2025

- Sharon Salim

Real wage growth in Singapore picked up in 2024 as inflation eased, but could slow down in 2025 due to ongoing geopolitical tensions and global trade uncertainties, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Nominal total wages grew by 5.6 per cent in 2024, up from 5.2 per cent in 2023, on the back of continued economic growth.

After accounting for inflation, which eased from 2023, real wages grew by 3.2 per cent in 2024, up from 0.4 per cent in 2023, MOM said in its annual wage practices report released on May 28.

But MOM's forward-looking survey, conducted in the first quarter of 2025, showed a decline in the share of firms planning pay increments. The proportion of firms intending to do so dropped to 22 per cent in March 2025, from 32 per cent in December 2024.

"These trends point to a potential moderation in nominal wage growth in 2025 compared with in 2024, especially in trade-reliant sectors such as manufacturing and wholesale trade," MOM said.

In 2024, rank-and-file workers and junior management employees saw higher wage growth at 5.8 per cent and 5.6 per cent, respectively, compared with senior management at 5.1 per cent. Most firms that offered a higher pay rise to lower-income employees said they did so to help them cope with the higher cost of living.