SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Resident workers in Singapore saw their spending power improve in 2025 as wages rose while inflation eased, according to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
Nominal wages of full-time workers – including employer Central Provident Fund contributions – rose 4.9 per cent in 2025, slower than the 5.6 per cent recorded in 2024.
But after adjusting for inflation, real wages grew by 4 per cent, up from 3.2 per cent the year before. This means workers generally had higher purchasing power, according to an MOM report on wage practices released on May 28.
Singapore’s overall inflation averaged 0.9 per cent in 2025, a big drop from 2.4 per cent in 2024, according to official data.
MOM polled 6,236 firms in the private sector with at least 10 employees for this report. The findings reflect the wages of over one million employees.
In 2025, 83.1 per cent of business establishments were profitable, up from 80.8 per cent in 2024.
The proportion of firms reporting stable or improved profitability rose to 64.1 per cent, from 62.7 per cent in 2024, suggesting a growing share of financially stable firms, MOM said.
The proportion of firms reporting stable or improved profitability rose to 64.1 per cent, from 62.7 per cent in 2024, suggesting a growing share of financially stable firms, MOM said.
Meanwhile, the share of firms making losses fell to 16.9 per cent in 2025, from 19.2 per cent in 2024.
Nevertheless, a lower proportion of companies raised salaries compared with the previous year.
About 72.4 per cent of firms raised wages in 2025, down from 78.3 per cent in 2024. More employers also chose to keep wages unchanged.
MOM said the moderation in inflation may have reduced the pressure on firms to raise salaries.
Among companies that raised salaries, the average jump was 5.8 per cent. Retaining workers was the main reason cited for the pay hikes.
Only 3.1 per cent of the firms surveyed cut wages in 2025, down slightly from 3.2 per cent in 2024.
In 2025, rank-and-file workers saw wage growth of 4.8 per cent, while junior management and senior management employees saw growth of 5.1 per cent and 4.9 per cent respectively.
These were lower than in 2024, when wage growth for rank-and-file workers came in at 5.8 per cent, while junior and senior management employees saw 5.6 per cent and 5.1 per cent growth respectively.
Wage growth remained positive across all sectors in 2025.
Administrative and support services posted the highest wage growth at 7.5 per cent, though this was lower than the 8.7 per cent growth recorded in 2024. MOM said lower-wage workers in the sector continued to be supported under the Progressive Wage Model and Local Qualifying Salary requirements.
Accommodation recorded the largest moderation in wage growth, easing from 5.5 per cent in 2024 to 3.9 per cent in 2025 as labour demand stabilised following the hiring surge during the post-pandemic recovery period from 2022 to 2023.
While most sectors recorded slower wage growth in 2025, insurance services and wholesale trade were the two sectors that bucked the trend. In particular, the insurance services sector saw wage growth rise to 6.6 per cent in 2025, from 4.9 per cent the year before.
MOM said the stronger wage growth in this sector was driven by the need to retain employees.
“Looking ahead, wage growth is expected to remain positive but moderated amid a more uncertain global environment and inflation risks. Firms are likely to be measured in wage increases,” it said.
A Singapore spokesman for Jobstreet by SEEK said the MOM report showed caution among employers despite stronger profitability overall.
“While more firms were profitable in 2025, fewer granted wage increases, and more kept wages unchanged. This suggests many businesses remain cautious about long-term labour costs amid continued economic and geopolitical uncertainty, even as overall business conditions improve,” said the spokesman.
“Sectors tied to high-value or specialised capabilities – including technology, financial services and selected professional roles – are likely to continue seeing stronger wage resilience,” he said.
“At the same time, industries facing tighter margins, slower consumer demand or operational cost pressures may adopt a more cautious approach to workforce expansion and wage growth.”
A recent report by the job portal found that 71 per cent of workers in Singapore felt they were being paid fairly for their current role.
But only 37 per cent said they were satisfied with their salaries, pointing to a disconnect between what workers consider fair pay and what they would ideally like to earn.
The Jobstreet by SEEK poll was conducted online in February and gathered responses from over 1,000 employed workers in Singapore aged between 18 and 64.
It also found that 53 per cent of workers in Singapore received a salary increase in the past year.
Most of them attributed the pay hike to skills such as problem-solving, management and leadership, technical expertise, and communication and interpersonal abilities.
Leadership skills were seen as more important among mid-level and senior-level workers, whose roles were more likely to involve people management. -- The Straits Times/ANN
