Singapore workers’ real wages grew by 4% in 2025 as inflation eased: MOM

Singapore’s resident workers saw real wage growth of 4% in 2025, driven by a 4.9% rise in nominal wages—including employer CPF contributions—while inflation eased to an average of 0.9%, down from 2.4% in 2024. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) reported this improvement in its annual wage survey, covering over 1 million employees across 6,236 private-sector firms with at least 10 staff. Wage increases slowed across most sectors compared to 2024, with administrative and support services still leading at 7.5% (down from 8.7%), while accommodation (3.9%) and construction (4%) saw the largest moderations. Only insurance services (6.6%) and wholesale trade (4.4%) recorded stronger growth, citing employee retention as the primary driver. Profitability improved in 2025, with 83.1% of firms reporting profits—up from 80.8% in 2024—and 64.1% describing their financial performance as stable or better. However, fewer firms raised wages in 2025 (72.4%) compared to 2024 (78.3%), while 24.5% kept wages unchanged, reflecting cautious hiring and wage-setting amid global economic uncertainty. MOM attributed the wage trends to a more uncertain global environment, noting that firms are likely to adopt measured wage increases moving forward. Lower-wage workers in sectors like administrative services continued to benefit from wage ladders under the Progressive Wage Model, though overall wage growth remained positive across all industries.