All industries and all types of employees experienced wage growth last year, the ministry said, though it pointed out that the changes were smaller than in the year before.
The wage growth of senior management employees was 4.6 per cent, while rank-and-file and junior management employees experienced 4.8 per cent and 6.3 per cent wage growth respectively.
In terms of industries, most saw lower wage growth, but wages in administrative and support services grew faster because of the Progressive Wage Model, MOM said.
More than eight in 10 firms were profitable last year, but profitability was affected by slower economic growth.
The proportion of establishments which gave wage increases to their employees declined from 72.2 per cent in 2022 to 65.6 per cent in 2023.
A total of 6.5 per cent of establishments cut wages, and 27.9 per cent of firms held wages steady.
EXPECTATIONS FOR WAGE GROWTH IN 2024
Looking ahead, the job market remains tight and there is strong demand for professionals, managers, executives and technicians in industries such as information and communications, financial services, professional services and health and social services, said the ministry.
“These developments could result in higher wage growth in these sectors in 2024 compared to 2023. However, with an uncertain business environment, establishments might adopt a cautious stance with respect to wage increases,” said MOM.
Polls in the first quarter of this year showed that fewer firms intend to raise the wages of their employees in the next three months.
“On balance, we expect the nominal wage growth in 2024 to remain similar to 2023. With inflation expected to stay on a gradually moderating trend, we expect an improvement in real wage growth.”
