Summary Table: Income

Income from employment is a key indicator of economic well-being.

Gross monthly income from work is the widest measure of income from employment, covering both employees and the self-employed. For income of a typical worker, look at the median gross monthly income. This is the income in the middle, after the workers are ranked by their income.

If you are interested in wage increases that employers give over the year, then look at the annual wage changes. This indicator provides a breakdown of changes in total wages into basic wages and bonuses.

Gross Monthly Income From Work

Median Gross Monthly Income From Work (Including Employer CPF Contributions) of Full-Time Employed Residents

Mid-Year	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
Levels ($)	3,705	3,770	3,949	4,056	4,232	4,437	4,563	4,534	4,680	5,070	5,197
Mid-Year	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023

Change in Median Gross Monthly Income From Work (Including Employer CPF Contributions) of Full-Time Employed Residents

	Annualised Change (% p.a.)			Cumulative Change (%)
Mid-Year	2013 - 2023^P	2013 - 2018	2018 - 2023^P	2013 - 2023^P	2013 - 2018	2018 - 2023^P
Nominal	3.4	3.7	3.2	40.3	19.8	17.1
Real^	2.0	3.5	0.5	21.5	18.7	2.4
	Annualised Changed (% p.a.)			Cumulative Change (%)
Mid-Year	2013 - 2023^P	2013 - 2018	2018 - 2023^P	2013 - 2023^P	2013 - 2018	2018 - 2023^P

Source: Gross Monthly Income From Work - Comprehensive Labour Force Survey, Manpower Research & Statistics Department, MOM
Latest figures published in: Labour Force in Singapore Advance Release

Notes:

Data exclude full-time National Servicemen.
Data are for mid-year.
Residents refer to Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents.
Gross monthly income from work refers to income earned from employment. For employees, it refers to the gross monthly wages or salaries before deduction of employee CPF contributions and personal income tax. It comprises basic wages, overtime pay, commissions, tips, other allowances and one-twelfth of annual bonuses. For self-employed persons, gross monthly income refers to the average monthly profits from their business, trade or profession (i.e. total receipts less business expenses incurred) before deduction of income tax.
As data are captured from a sample survey, year-on-year income changes are prone to fluctuations and hence should always be interpreted with caution. Income growth studied over longer periods (e.g. 5 or 10 years) smooths out these fluctuations and hence provides a more direct indication of income growth.
^ Deflated by Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all items at 2019 prices (2019 = 100).
p = preliminary as the full-year CPI data for 2023 is not available yet.

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Annual Wage Changes

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Total Wage Change Including Employer CPF Contributions (%)

Nominal	4.2	5.3	4.9	4.9	3.1	3.8	4.6	3.9	1.2	3.9	6.5
Real^	-0.4	2.9	3.9	5.4	3.6	3.2	4.2	3.3	1.4	1.6	0.4

Basic Wage Change (%)

Nominal	4.5	5.1	4.9	4.2	3.5	3.6	4.0	3.8	2.1	3.2	5.1
Real^	-0.1	2.7	3.9	4.7	4.0	3.0	3.6	3.2	2.3	0.9	-1.0

Bonus Quantum (Months of Basic Wage)	2.19	2.21	2.21	2.17	2.16	2.14	2.06	1.94	1.79	1.84	1.93
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2011	2022

Annualised Change in Nominal and Real Wages

(% p.a.)

	Nominal		Real^
Period	Total Wage Change (Including Employer CPF)	Basic Wage Change	Real Total Wage Change (Including Employer CPF)	Real Basic Wage Change
2012-2022	4.2	3.9	3.0	2.7
2012-2017	4.4	4.3	3.8	3.7
2017-2022	4.0	3.6	2.2	1.8
	Nominal		Real^
Period	Total Wage Change (Including Employer CPF)	Basic Wage Change	Real Total Wage Change (Including Employer CPF)	Real Basic Wage Change

Source: Annual Wage Changes - Survey on Annual Wage Changes, Manpower Research & Statistics Department, MOM

Notes:

Data pertain to wage increases granted by private sector establishments (with at least 10 employees) to full-time resident employees in continuous employment for at least a year.

Data on bonus quantum for a reference year is collected twice. Once during the reference year and once more a year later to facilitate calculation of total wage changes in the same establishment received by a fixed cohort of employees. This table is based bonus quantum collected in the reference year.

^ Deflated by Consumer Price Index for all items at 2019 prices (2019 = 100).

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​​​​​​​Summary Table: Income

Summary Table: Income