12/01/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/30/2022 20:50
Introduction
1. The resident labour force continued to see improvements in 2022 compared to a year ago. Unemployment rate fell for workers across occupational groups. A larger proportion of the population was engaged in work as the employment rate rose. Year-on-year real income grew notwithstanding high inflation. In particular, income growth for lower-wage workers was higher than the median, and the 20th percentile (P20) to median (P50) income ratio rose to its highest since 2004. Indicators on labour under-utilisation have also improved to their pre-COVID levels.
2. These are key findings from the Advance Release of the Labour Force In Singapore 2022, an annual release by the Manpower Research and Statistics Department of the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).1 The report draws on data from the mid-year Comprehensive Labour Force Survey.
Main Findings
A larger proportion of the resident population was engaged in work
3. The employment rate for residents aged 15 and over rose for the second consecutive year to reach 67.5% in 2022, higher than the pre-COVID rate in 2019 by 2.3%-points. If ranked against Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries on overall employment rate, Singapore would place third.
Share of residents in PMET roles has increased
4. In terms of job profile, PMETs (Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians) made up 64% of all employed residents in 2022, an increase from 62% in 2021. The higher share reflects a highly educated workforce and sustained employment growth in sectors such as Information & Communications, Financial & Insurance and Professional Services.
Unemployment rate fell for workers across occupations
5. The unemployment rate fell over the year, from 3.4% to 2.6% for PMETs and from 5.1% to 4.4% for non-PMETs.2 The long-term unemployment rate3 also decreased to around pre-COVID levels for both PMETs (0.8% to 0.5%) and non-PMETs (0.9% to 0.7%).
Other indicators on labour under-utilisation have also improved to pre-COVID levels
6. The number and incidence of discouraged workers4 continued to decrease from 11,600 or 0.5% of the resident labour force in 2021, to 8,900 or 0.4% in 2022, reflecting a strong recovery from the height of the pandemic in 2020.
7. Alongside improvements in job search outcomes, the resident time-related under-employment rate declined to pre-COVID levels, at 3.0% in 2022. Most groups experienced improvements, including those who were more affected at the height of the pandemic - workers aged 60 and over as well as those with below secondary qualifications. With the economic recovery, the scale-back in COVID-related temporary jobs, and the tight labour market, the proportion of employees in non-permanent employment also fell back to pre-COVID levels (11%).
Income growth held up well despite high inflation
8. Real median income growth improved from 0.9% in 2021 to 2.1% in 2022, as strong nominal income growth outstripped higher inflation. However, real median income growth in 2022 was still lower than that in the years preceding the pandemic (2014-2019: 3.8% p.a.), when inflation was lower.
9. Lower-wage workers saw stronger income growth than the median worker, supported by tripartite initiatives such as the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) which are aimed at uplifting lower-wage workers. Real income for the 20th percentile worker grew by 4.8% in 2022, faster than the previous year (4.4%) as well as the pre-COVID years (2014-2019: 4.4% p.a.). With this, the P20 to P50 income ratio rose from 0.53 in 2021 to 0.55 in 2022, the highest since 2004.
Conclusion
10. The broad-based improvement in resident labour force performance reflects the continued economic recovery and the gradual normalisation of business and social activities. Amid the evolving economic environment, we encourage employers and workers to make full use of government programmes to adapt and accelerate the pace of transformation. This will enable us to develop our workers and build a more competitive and resilient workforce, while ensuring that wage growth is sustainable and supported by productivity growth.
11. The Government will continue to build on tripartite efforts to uplift lower-wage workers.
For More Information
12. The full report is available online on the Ministry of Manpower's Research and Statistics Department website at http://stats.mom.gov.sg/Pages/Home.aspx.