The Manpower Research and Statistics Department has published
three annual statistical publications, namely the ‘Report on Wages in Singapore, 2002’, ‘2003 Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics’ and a pocket-sized booklet entitled ‘Manpower Statistics in Brief, 2003’. The information will help job-seekers, employers and employees make better informed decisions on career and human resource matters.

The ‘Report on Wages in Singapore, 2002’ presents comprehensive information on wages, such as wage changes and bonuses paid in various industries, as well as salaries of over 300 occupations. Detailed data on wages of common occupations are available by sex, age and industry in a total of 21 statistical tables. The Report also gives earnings data collected by the Central Provident Fund Board and the starting salaries of the 2002 graduates from local universities, polytechnics and ITE. The highlights of the report are at Annex.

The ‘2003 Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics’ provides a wide range of statistics on the labour market situation in 2002. These include key data on labour force, job vacancies, retrenchments, labour turnover, wages, hours worked, employment conditions, labour relations, industrial safety, higher education and skills training. Wherever possible, annual data are presented from 1992 onwards to facilitate time series analysis.

Key data from the above two publications are also summarised in a pocket-sized booklet entitled ‘Manpower Statistics in Brief, 2003’, which is available free-of charge.

The ‘Report on Wages in Singapore, 2002’ and ‘2003 Singapore Yearbook of Manpower Statistics’ are priced at $18.50 and $13.50 per copy respectively (inclusive of GST). All three publications can be obtained from :

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Highlights of the Report on Wages in Singapore, 2002:

Weighed down by a soft labour market and a highly uncertain global environment, total wages comprising basic wages, annual wage supplement and variable bonuses came to a standstill in 2002, down from 1.1% growth in 2001. Basic wages for all employees rose by a record low of 1.8%. This increase was offset by a 15% reduction in variable component to a new low of 1.77 months of basic wage in 2002.

Reflecting the cautious outlook, some 63% of firms froze or cut total wages in 2002, up slightly from 60% the year before. The extent of wage reduction imposed by the wage-cutting firms was also deeper at 7.0% as against 5.4% cut in 2001. Among the remaining 38% of firms that raised total wages, the average wage increase was lower at 4.8% in 2002 as against 5.4% in 2001.

The median wages came down for many of the occupational groups in 2002. Nevertheless, skilled workers continued to receive a wage premium over those with lower skills. In 2002, managers continued to post the highest median gross wage of $5,856. The gross wage of professionals remained a distant second ($3,798). The group of technicians & associate professionals received a respectable median gross wage of $2,655, while the other main occupational groups registered median gross wages of $2,000 or below.

Underpinned by strong union support, unionised firms continued to make steady progress in the adoption of MVC to hit 39% in 2002 from 34% in the preceding year and 11% in 1999. Implementation was significantly lower in non-unionised firms where only 3.9% had adopted MVC in 2002, up from 3.4% in 2001 and 2.2% in 1999. Consequently, only 5.6% of all firms had adopted the MVC, up from previous year’s 4.8% and 2.7% in 1999. Among employees, 1 out of every 4 had the MVC built into his wage structure in 2002, up from 21% in 2001 and 8.5% in 1999.

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