Sectoral Median Monthly Wages and Wage Shares vis-a-vis Those in Developed Economies

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Trade and Industry (a) how does Singapore compare with developed economies in terms of median

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monthly wages and wage shares; (b) how do the biomedical sector, general manufacturing sector, and the accommodation and food services sector in Singapore compare with their counterpart sectors in developed economies in terms of sectoral average monthly wages and sectoral wage shares; and (c) how does Singapore compare with developed economies in terms of productivity growth and median wage growth.

Between 2007 and 2011, Singapore's wage share of GDP averaged at 41.5%. This was lower than the wage shares of many developed economies, which were, typically, at 50% or more (see table below).

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Over the same period, the PPP-adjusted real median gross monthly income of full-time employed residents in Singapore was $2,7204, higher than the median income of workers in developed economies, such as Germany and the United Kingdom, but lower than that of workers in economies, like the United States.

Between 2007 and 2011, the PPP-adjusted real average monthly wages of workers in Singapore in the biomedical cluster, general manufacturing cluster and the accommodation and food services sectors were $4,880, $2,840 and $1,640 respectively (see table below)5. The corresponding wage shares were 6.8%, 52.3% and 56% respectively.

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While the average wage and wage share in Singapore's general manufacturing cluster tended to be lower than those of developed economies, our average wage and wage share in the accommodation and food services sectors were comparable with those of other economies. A similar comparison for the biomedical cluster could not be made as comparable wage and wage share data for this cluster were not available for the other economies.

Singapore's labour productivity growth from 2007 to 2011 was 0.2% per annum, slower than that in many developed economies, such as the United States, Germany and Hong Kong, but comparable with the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain (see table below). Productivity can be affected by economic cycles and should be viewed over a longer period of time. Our labour productivity growth from 2002 to 2011 was 2.4% per annum. This outpaced the labour productivity growth in developed economies, such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States.

The growth in the real median gross monthly income of full-time employed resident workers in Singapore was 2.6% per annum over the period of 2007 to 20116. This was faster than the real median income growth for workers in developed economies, such as the United Kingdom, United States, Germany and Hong Kong.

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